Mexico School board wants to bar illegals from their schools

[Brian503a]

http://www.mexicoledger.com/articles/20 ... news01.txt

School board will ask legislators to pass laws barring illegal aliens from public education

by ZACH MORTICE
Ledger Staff Writer

The Mexico School Board will ask state legislators to pass laws that would document and bar the children of illegal immigrants from Mexico Public Schools.

State Rep. Steve Hobbs (R-Mexico) and Sen. John Cauthorn (R-Mexico) will hear this request and three others, which are the results of a legislative workstudy session that took place immediately before Tuesdat night’s regularly scheduled board meeting.

This suggestion was pushed primarily by board member M. Elwood Rice.

He wants legislators to lobby for some type of state, and eventually national, registration or certificate documenting legal aliens in this county that would be required for their children to attend public schools.

If such a measure were passed, Missouri would lead the nation in excluding the children of illegal immigrants from a public education.

“I don’t see why we can’t be a forerunner,� said Rice.

Rice said he doesn’t know how many children of illegal immigrants are in Mexico’s schools because he can’t ask this question. Federal law prohibits it.

Therefore, any law in reference to this that the district pushes and state legislators adopt could end up in the Supreme Court.

Rice said the free public education schools offer help attract illegal immigrants to the U.S., and denying this is one way to stop the steady flow of immigrants over the border.

Superintendent Lloyd Little expressed concerns about refusing to serve an immigrant community.

“If those students stay here, do we want an uneducated force of individuals out there, whether they are legal or illegal, in our society?� he asked.

“I don’t think you can look at it that way,� said Rice. “I think you’ve got to nip it in the bud.�

Rice said his goal is not simply to turn the children of illegal immigrants away from schools. He would like this certificate to allow illegal immigrants lacking this doucmentation to be identified more effectively and eventually sent home.

“It’s not the kids’ fault,� Rice said. “They need to have an education, just not at the expense of the taxpayers.�

The school board also decided to lobby for more freedom to search students for drugs on campus grounds. Currently the district’s attorney has advised the schools not to search students or their backpacks if they are suspected of having drugs, but board members want search regulations to be broadened and defined more clearly.

Board member Beverly Borgeson proposed this agenda.

“It’s clear that somehow we have to do more if we’re really going to make sure there aren’t drugs in our schools,� she said.

Board member Jim Clampitt, who is an attorney, said the legal risk of pushing this agenda is very low, yet still present.

“We’ve got a major problem here,� he said. “It may be time to push the envelope a little bit.�

Siding with the Missouri School Board Association, the board decided to ask Hobbs and Cauthorn to oppose Gov. Blunt’s “65 percent� formula proposal, which would require all school districts to spend 65 percent of all education funding on direct classroom expenditures, like teacher salaries, textbooks and supplies.

Members of the board fear that if this becomes law, school districts will lose local control of their district.

“You’re three steps away from [the school board] not being needed,� said Clampitt.

Clampitt also called Blunt’s proposal “arbitrary.�

“It’s like saying $7,500 is the perfect way to educate a child,� he said.

Board members also fear the inflexibility of the plan.

“There are so many things that are out of our control for that remaining 35 percent, like fuel and heat,� said Little. “If that goes up, we’re not going to get anymore money. We’re going to have to reduce our costs somewhere else to support services.�

Mexico currently spends 63.5 percent of its budget on classroom expenses, but this 1.5 percent gap accounts for $350,000.

The final legislative agenda that will be presented to Hobbs and Cauthorn will ask them to lobby for the establishment of regional alternative schools for at-risk students. These schools would be magnets, serving several districts at once.

During the regularly scheduled meeting, board members decided to appoint a committee to examine how to increase pay for some teachers. This policy would affect teachers who have taken graduate level classes yet have not received a master’s degree, and vocational-technical teachers that are certified to teach in their field, yet do not have a bachelor’s degree.

“We’re not recognizing (graduate hours without a masters degree) on our salary scale,� said board President Kenneth Hoover who introduced the policy. “ I don’t think that’s fair.�

At the Davis H. Hart Mexico Area Vocational School, administrators are concerned that if they do not increase pay for technical teachers without a bachelor’s degree, a new crop of educators will be difficult to attract once the school’s staff begins retiring.

“It’s going to be a big concern for me at the technical school,� said Duane Bennett, director of the vo-tech school.

That seemed to justify appointing a committee to examine the issue for the board.

“If our administrators tell us there’s a genuine concern about attracting top talent unless we make this change, then it’s a no-brainer for me,� said Clampitt.

The board also removed pay deduction penalties from the policies for teachers who resign after June 1. Previously, the district could take 5 percent of a teacher’s contract if they failed to quit before the first of June.

A miscalculated bid by Demien Construction caused the district to spend an extra $200,000 on the renovation of Eugene Field Elementary.

The board voted to release Demien from their contract, and to accept the next highest bid, Curtiss Manes and Schulte, whose bid was $235,118 higher than Demien’s.

The board also approved the opening of bids to begin on March 2 for renovations at Green Field and roof repairs at Eugene Field.

A new scholarship was established at Tuesday night’s meeting as well.

The Carl and Charlotte Hirst Scholarship will go to one male and one female student who has participated in basketball, cheerleading, and/or vocal music. Recipients must plan to go to a college or technical school after high school, have an above average GPA at all times, possess high moral character and show a need for financial assistance. The scholarship amount will be $1,000 and the recipients will be named in May.

posted Jan. 18

[dman1200]

This so smacks of hypocricy. So it's ok for Mexico to get tough on their illegals, but they feel that they have the right to tell us that we should bend over backwords for their illegals? No I don't think so. Kick all of the illegals out of this country and when Mexico comes to b!tch about it, tell them that we are only just doing what you hypocritical turds do with your illegals, we are just merely taking a page out of your playbook.

[Brian503a]

This so smacks of hypocricy. So it's ok for Mexico to get tough on their illegals, but they feel that they have the right to tell us that we should bend over backwords for their illegals? No I don't think so. Kick all of the illegals out of this country and when Mexico comes to b!tch about it, tell them that we are only just doing what you hypocritical turds do with your illegals, we are just merely taking a page out of your playbook.

You got the wrong Mexico.

http://www.mexicomissouri.net/index.php

[RoadRunner]

This smacks of states doing what they should have been doing for the last three decades. Telling the DC crowd...and the Supreme Court...that government BEGINS and ENDS on the local level.

I'm so proud of these people...I do so hope their initiative is successful....I'd like to see this go like a wildfire thru every school in every state.

RR

[had_enuf]

This so smacks of hypocricy. So it's ok for Mexico to get tough on their illegals, but they feel that they have the right to tell us that we should bend over backwords for their illegals? No I don't think so. Kick all of the illegals out of this country and when Mexico comes to b!tch about it, tell them that we are only just doing what you hypocritical turds do with your illegals, we are just merely taking a page out of your playbook.

You got the wrong Mexico.

http://www.mexicomissouri.net/index.php

Mexico School District in Missouri?

[thelmahopkins]

bump