Thread: Ajo students must prove Arizona residency

Ajo students must prove Arizona residency

by Craig Harris -
Aug. 22, 2010 09:21 PM
The Arizona Republic

For years, students living in Mexico crossed the border at Lukeville, boarded a bus and attended the tiny Ajo Unified School District.

But that will change Monday, when classes begin there in southwestern Arizona.

Following a crackdown by Arizona schools chief Tom Horne, students won't be allowed to board the bus unless their parents or guardians prove the children live in the district's boundaries and not in Mexico.

The school district has asked Pima County Schools, which provides the transportation, to confirm the residency of those living in "unorganized territories" and to give those students certificates. Ricardo Hernandez, chief financial officer for Pima County Schools, said a certificate is required to board the bus and that 48 have been issued.

Certificates were not required last year, when 86 students were on the roughly 38-mile trip from Lukeville to Ajo.

Horne, who is running for attorney general in Tuesday's primary election, had his office launch an investigation in 2004 after The Arizona Republic and CNN reported on the matter. The Arizona Department of Education began a new probe last year following new complaints.

Horne's office in May announced it was seeking $1.2 million from the Ajo Unified School District for allegedly using state funds to educate 105 students from Mexico since 2007.

Robert Dooley, Ajo schools superintendent, said the state investigation was flawed and that the district has found at least 60 of the students in question were legal residents.

Dooley said the district has been unable to prove at least 20 of the students were legal residents and that they have been removed from the school's enrollment records.

He said the district still is trying to determine the residency status of the other 25 students.

The controversy in Ajo coincides with the court battle between Arizona and the federal government over the state's tough illegal-immigration law.

A federal judge has put on hold key provisions of the law, which is being appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

However, the issue in Ajo isn't whether the students are in the country legally. It's where they live.

Illegal immigrants can attend Arizona public schools if they reside in the state.

But Horne said it's illegal to receive a free taxpayer-funded education if a student doesn't live in Arizona.

Dooley said his district has "raised the bar" on residency requirements and has offered to settle the case by paying the state $300,000, which likely would result in layoffs of four or five teachers.

The district laid off two teachers for the upcoming school year, and it expects to have 33 teachers for 450 to 475 students.

"For a little-bitty district, that's still a lot of money," Dooley said of the offer.

Dooley said the Department of Education rejected the district's offer and would settle for $700,000.

Horne declined to discuss the settlement negotiations with Ajo, saying that was an issue for attorneys from his office. He said that whatever the amount Ajo will pay, it will serve as a deterrent for other Arizona districts along the border that are willing to educate children from Mexico.

School districts receive state funds based on the number of students they have enrolled.

"If a school wants to do it without charging the state, that's fine with me," Horne said. "But I'm a fiduciary for the state."

Reach the reporter at craig.harris@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8478.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... z0xP83HFGB