BOE President says immigrant count creates division
October 11, 2008 - 10:25am

Frederick County Board of Education president Daryl Boffman does not think a proposal to count illegal immigrants in public schools would directly benefit residents.

Federal courts have determined public schools have to educate children who provide the proper documentation, such as proof of immunization and age, he said. Also, the federal government is having trouble funding requests for education programs and Boffman questioned the need to seek additional assistance during a financial crisis.

"These requests are creating division in our county at a time when we really need to pull together as citizens," Boffman said.

Last week, the Frederick County Commissioners approved a request by Commissioner John L. Thompson to ask the state Board of Education whether state law prohibits county schools from asking about the immigration status of its students.

The 4-0 vote, with Kai Hagen absent, came after an attempt by Thompson and Commissioner Charles Jenkins to include on the board's list of legislative proposals a count of illegal immigrants in county schools. That failed when the three other commissioners said they wanted to research the legality of Frederick County Public Schools collecting information on immigration status.

Commissioners President Jan Gardner said her vote in support of the information request was not an indication of her support for a count.

"I think it may help resolve some of the outstanding questions associated with this, but it's certainly not something I support having the (Board of Education) be required to do," she said.

Thompson, Jenkins and Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins are also asking state lawmakers to initiate a separate proposal to count illegal immigrants, without revealing their identity, in county schools.

They hope such a measure will spur federal legislators to either increase education funding or take action on immigration reform.

"The better policy is for the federal government to provide border security," Thompson wrote in an e-mail Tuesday. "Failing that, the next best outcome is to have the federal government help offset the cost to state and local taxpayers to educate students whose lawful presence within the United States cannot be reasonably documented."

Rick Weldon, chairman of the Frederick County delegation to the General Assembly, wrote in an e-mail Tuesday he was not aware of any delegates representing the county who planned to introduce the proposal.

Weldon wrote he expects to have a detailed discussion on the matter during the delegation's public hearing in December.

The Frederick County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is opposed to a count.

"We are calling on the state delegation to focus on bringing relief to bring jobs and help people with failing mortgages, instead of using immigration as a wedge issue," said Guy Djoken, president of the chapter.

He agreed illegal immigration is a serious issue, but counting students in schools could lead to an atmosphere of fear and mistrust among students and teachers, Djoken said.

If some undocumented students are pulled out of school, or decide not to attend because they are worried about how they will be treated, they would be more likely to fall into dangerous situations, he said.

"Teachers already have enough to do right now," he said. "We need to put all of our resources into educating people."

Copyright 2008 The Frederick News-Post. All rights reserved.
by Nicholas C. Stern @ The Frederick News-Post

Frederick County Board of Education president Daryl Boffman does not think a proposal to count illegal immigrants in public schools would directly benefit residents.

Federal courts have determined public schools have to educate children who provide the proper documentation, such as proof of immunization and age, he said. Also, the federal government is having trouble funding requests for education programs and Boffman questioned the need to seek additional assistance during a financial crisis.

"These requests are creating division in our county at a time when we really need to pull together as citizens," Boffman said.

Last week, the Frederick County Commissioners approved a request by Commissioner John L. Thompson to ask the state Board of Education whether state law prohibits county schools from asking about the immigration status of its students.

The 4-0 vote, with Kai Hagen absent, came after an attempt by Thompson and Commissioner Charles Jenkins to include on the board's list of legislative proposals a count of illegal immigrants in county schools. That failed when the three other commissioners said they wanted to research the legality of Frederick County Public Schools collecting information on immigration status.

Commissioners President Jan Gardner said her vote in support of the information request was not an indication of her support for a count.

"I think it may help resolve some of the outstanding questions associated with this, but it's certainly not something I support having the (Board of Education) be required to do," she said.

Thompson, Jenkins and Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins are also asking state lawmakers to initiate a separate proposal to count illegal immigrants, without revealing their identity, in county schools.

They hope such a measure will spur federal legislators to either increase education funding or take action on immigration reform.

"The better policy is for the federal government to provide border security," Thompson wrote in an e-mail Tuesday. "Failing that, the next best outcome is to have the federal government help offset the cost to state and local taxpayers to educate students whose lawful presence within the United States cannot be reasonably documented."

Rick Weldon, chairman of the Frederick County delegation to the General Assembly, wrote in an e-mail Tuesday he was not aware of any delegates representing the county who planned to introduce the proposal.

Weldon wrote he expects to have a detailed discussion on the matter during the delegation's public hearing in December.

The Frederick County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is opposed to a count.

"We are calling on the state delegation to focus on bringing relief to bring jobs and help people with failing mortgages, instead of using immigration as a wedge issue," said Guy Djoken, president of the chapter.

He agreed illegal immigration is a serious issue, but counting students in schools could lead to an atmosphere of fear and mistrust among students and teachers, Djoken said.

If some undocumented students are pulled out of school, or decide not to attend because they are worried about how they will be treated, they would be more likely to fall into dangerous situations, he said.

"Teachers already have enough to do right now," he said. "We need to put all of our resources into educating people."

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