LAKE ORION, Mich. (WXYZ) — It’s a shakeup in special education in Oakland County. Lake Orion Schools says it can no longer support special education programs at its Pine Tree Center. That center serves more than just kids in Lake Orion.
For several families throughout Oakland County, Pine Tree Center was something like a lifeline—providing high-quality education and programming for their special needs students. Now it’s back to the drawing board.
“I have no idea what we’re going to do with my daughter, truthfully,” said Katie Hames.
INTERVIEW: Katie Hames talks about losing special education programs
Hames’ daughter, Saraa, is one of more than 40 students impacted by the looming closure of special education programs at Lake Orion’s Pine Tree Center.
Lake Orion Schools recently announced it could no longer support special education programs there. Katie says they left their home district in Rochester Hills for Lake Orion’s Pine Tree Center, where Saraa is thriving.
“She was welcomed with open arms, she was welcomed with love, she was welcomed with support, and it has been a complete game changer for us,” said Hames. “She was Student of the Month in October 2024.”
Eight years ago, Lake Orion schools worked with the Oakland Intermediate School District to repurpose Pine Tree Elementary School into a special education center serving students throughout Oakland County—not just Lake Orion.
Lake Orion Superintendent Heidi Mercer says the district spent the past seven years trying to adapt the program to fit the older building.
“An appropriate renovation or rebuild would be in the tens of millions of dollars. [Lake Orion Community Schools] does not have those funds in the general budget and would require a separate funding source, which would not be available for a few years at the earliest,” said Mercer.
Mercer says the burden of renovating the building would ultimately fall on Lake Orion taxpayers— and that would be fiscally irresponsible, considering the overwhelming majority of Pine Tree Students are not from Lake Orion.
“The challenges of supporting our special education students is a resident district and county issue, not a Lake Orion issue,” said Mercer.
As of now, special education programming is set to end at the close of the school year.
Mercer says the district is committed to helping students get back to their home districts for the next school year and supporting staff and teachers at Pine Tree Center through the transition.
