Thread: FB seeks names, addresses of school children

Farmers Branch seeks names, addresses of schoolchildren

Some suspect request linked to anti-illegal immigration laws

10:19 PM CDT on Monday, September 24, 2007

By KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH / The Dallas Morning News
kunmuth@dallasnews.com

Attorneys representing the city of Farmers Branch have asked the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district for the names and addresses of every child living in the city and enrolled in public schools.

City Manager Gary Greer said the City Council directed him to make the request on Sept. 11. Council members are not elaborating much on why they asked for the information.

"When we were discussing stricter code enforcement in our meetings, some of the council members asked if our city attorney could get those statistics from the school districts," Mayor Bob Phelps said. "I assume that's what it's for."

City code calls for a minimum sleeping area in single-family homes of 70 square feet per adult and an additional 50 square feet for each additional adult occupant. Each child must have an area of at least 35 square feet. Apartment ordinances allow two people per bedroom plus one additional person.

Some social activists say illegal immigrants tend to crowd into too little space in apartments and houses, creating unsanitary or dangerous conditions.

Presumably, a list of student names and addresses would provide information about how many children live at an address.

Another reason could be the city's research into the possibility of creating its own charter school or private school as an alternative to the school district.

Dr. Annette Griffin, school superintendent, said more than 100 requests come in each year for so-called student directory information from colleges, the armed forces, the media and from companies who want to develop mailing lists.

Dr. Griffin said she does not recall the city ever asking for student names and addresses in the past.

"I really don't know why they would want that information or what they would want to do with that," she said.

School districts and other governmental bodies are allowed to assess clerical fees for gathering information under the state open records act.

The school district has sent a bill to the city's attorney and is awaiting a response before turning over the information.

Not talking

Farmers Branch City Council member Tim O'Hare has become the public face of those in the city who oppose illegal immigration. He did not return phone calls for this story.

Mr. O'Hare has speculated that enforcement of ordinances banning illegal immigrants from renting apartments might cause school enrollment to change.

A judge has put enforcement of those ordinances on hold, and this year's enrollment in the Farmers Branch portion of Carrollton-Farmers Branch public schools remained steady at 3,853. An estimated 26,302 students attend district schools.

The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, classified as economically disadvantaged and limited in English proficiency.

Council member Tim Scott, whose child attends a Farmers Branch school, said the city's request for student names and addresses was a simple one: "Don't read too much into it."

Mr. Scott is generally seen as Mr. O'Hare's ally on immigration issues.

"The request was made just to get an idea of where the students are in Farmers Branch and what students we have in Farmers Branch," he said. "It's just about gathering information. There's no real mystery here. We just wanted to know if the kids are in the schools."

He said the request is designed to lead to improvement of educational opportunities in the city.

Some children in Farmers Branch attend Dallas public schools. Mr. Greer, the Farmers Branch city manager, said he intends to make the same open records request to Dallas ISD

Dallas and Irving city officials said they don't ask their school districts for such information.

Speculation

School board member Frank Shor said the City Council clearly wants more than statistics because it's asking for names and addresses.

"I believe it could have something to do with the immigration issue," said Mr. Shor, who pointed out that the state's open records law does not allow the school district to ask the city why it wants the names and addresses.

"If that question is not being answered by the folks asking for the information, my skeptical mind causes me to think they're not proud of their motivation."

City Council member Jim Smith said the topic came up in a discussion several weeks ago.

"Somebody said, 'I'd like to know how many kids that live in Farmers Branch go to the school district,' " he said. "I don't know what the purpose would be, why we would want a list of kids."

The city is still in litigation over the ordinances banning illegal immigrants from apartment occupancy.

Hector Flores, immediate past president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said the city's request concerns him because the information could be used for profiling and selective use of code enforcement.

"It seems very highly unusual in the racially charged atmosphere that prevails in Farmers Branch for the city and their lawyers to be asking for information about children that reside in that community," he said. "What wrong have these children done to deserve this – because they're Hispanic and their parents might be here without any documents? Shame on those that would retaliate against children."

School rating affected?

The 1982 Plyler vs. Doe Supreme Court ruling guarantees illegal immigrant children the right to a free public education. That case originated from a Texas law that had denied free public education to such children.

Mr. O'Hare has said ordinances directed at illegal immigrants were motivated, in part, by his concern about the impact of immigration on public schools. He has said increased dropout rates and a focus on teaching English to Spanish-speaking children hold other children back.

On his blog, Mr. O'Hare blamed illegal immigrants for the district's recent drop in rating from recognized to academically acceptable. It fell because of the performance of Hispanic students on the TAKS science test.

He also criticized the district for making itself "attractive" to immigrants through the programs it offers.

Tension between the city government and the school district dates back more than 10 years. Back then, city officials accused the district of segregating poor Hispanic children in Farmers Branch schools. The school district has maintained it is committed to neighborhood schools.

School board member James Goode, who has advocated for better education for Farmers Branch children, said he hopes the city wants the student names and addresses for positive reasons, such as funding more programs.

"I have no earthly idea of what they're trying to do," he said.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 98675.html

School board member James Goode, who has advocated for better education for Farmers Branch children, said he hopes the city wants the student names and addresses for positive reasons, such as funding more programs.

Must be some dang liberal wanting to take care of more illegals for his party's voter base.