ALBANY â€" The state Education Department is considering privatizing the School for the Blind in Genesee County because the state is not in a position to operate a full-time residential program recommended by consultants to keep the institution viable.

The state Board of Regents will decide next week whether to seek letters of interest from private operators who could run the Batavia school. The change would require approval from the state Legislature and governor.

No recommendations have been made yet, said Rebecca Cort, a deputy commissioner.

"We do want to reassure people that we are not looking to close this school," she said. "In fact, it's just the opposite. We are trying to look long term and say, 'How do we continue to ensure the viability of a very viable program?'"

The 140-year-old institution's enrollment was once as high as 300 but is now just over 50. The population has declined largely because school districts have adapted to federal and state laws that require special-education students be mainstreamed into regular classrooms when possible.

The school has found its niche in educating students 5 to 21 with visual impairments and one or more additional disabilities.

Parent Teresa Shaut of Bath, Steuben County, said she was concerned that there could be lower quality in a private school.

"It's a family. I mean, it's not just a school, it's a family," said Shaut, whose 13-year-old son has been a student there for more than six years.

The school has about 150 state employees and a $10.3 million operating budget. It is one of two state-run schools. The other is the School for the Deaf in Rome, Oneida County.