When the director of the Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services in Harrisburg was fired, blind students from Penn State began to worry.

The director, Christine Boone, was abruptly dismissed based on charges of insubordination and is now pressing charges.

Further details about the charges were not available because officials declined to comment.

As director for the past four years, she organized and implemented services for blind Pennsylvanians, including services for blind students at Penn State.

The bureau provides funding for blind students -- mainly for tuition, but also for other things they may need for school.

"This affects every blind person in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the university's relationship with that office," said Cary Supalo, a chemistry instructor and president of the local chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania (NFBP). "She made sure that everyone got the tools that they needed and deserved for school."

Braille books and other tools that are necessary for students at Penn State can be extremely expensive, he said.

Supalo, who is blind, and other students are worried that state funding for tools and tuition may decrease or even diminish without Boone's help.

Before Boone's tenure, there had been a succession of directors that never stayed more than a year each, said Judy Jobes, vice president of NFBP.

"I think the concern is that unless someone knows the law very well, students' funding could change," Boone said. "I would hope that Penn State students would not be affected by me not being [the director]."

Because Boone, who worked in the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry office, was a political appointee, she could have been dismissed and replaced when Gov. Ed Rendell and new state legislators took office in January.

"Instead they decided to fabricate charges, and that is not permissible," Boone said. "Clearly as long as the old administration was in place, I had nothing but positive reinforcement."

Boone was fired without warning and was given three hours to leave the office.

"Traditionally when people are let go, they are given at least a week or so to leave," she said. "I wanted to just follow up so as to not leave such a gaping hole, but I couldn't because I had no access to e-mail or access to files."

Boone was also forced to immediately resign from the national positions she held as well.

Because of the hasty manner in which she was fired, Boone is taking legal action.

"They have attempted to ruin my professional career, which is in rehabilitation [for the blind], nationwide," she said. "That, I will pursue to the greatest extent of the law."

An employee from the labor and industry office said it was against the department's policy to speak about personnel issues and would not make any comments.

Although there is an interim director, members of NFBP want the charges to be dropped against Boone and for her job to be reinstated.

"She is a competent, intelligent blind woman," said Lynn Heitz, a liaison for the NFBP. "That's the type of person we really need to some degree, and I can't help but wonder if her success threatened her male supervisor."

Many members of the NFBP have voiced their support for Boone.

"I think it is incumbent upon Christine to press charges," Jobes said. "If she doesn't, it would be a disservice to all of us."

Members of the blind community heard about Boone's case through national publications, such as The Blind Activist.

"Since this has received national attention, I have been offered four jobs, none of which are in the Commonwealth," Boone said.

"This was not just a job for me ... this was a calling, and that is what makes this so hard."