N.Y. - Hampton schools go to war with town over $10M in costs to teach illegal immigr
Hampton schools go to war with town over $10M in costs to teach illegal immigrant kids
By Selim Algar February 2, 2018 | 11:24am
Not all East End hotels are sun-splashed seasonal playgrounds.
More than a dozen grim guest properties in the Long Island hamlet of Hampton Bays are populated in large part by families of illegal immigrants — and now a local school board wants compensation to teach their kids.
Hampton Bays Union Free School District is demanding more than $10 million from Southampton Town for the cost of educating children living in the transient hotels, where no one is supposed to live year-round, according to a notice of claim filed last week.
The properties have done “damage to the Hampton Bays Union Free School District (and consequently, its taxpayers) in unrecovered pupil costs of over $10,682,923 expended to provide services to the students,” the Suffolk County court filing claims.
The notice does not say how many students from the hotels attend district schools, but it says the $10.6 million estimate is for costs dating back to 2013.
The notice also accuses local officials of “failure to enforce the Town’s Zoning Code by permitting long-term residential use of transient hotels or motels.”
Local schools have been saddled with more students — and costs — as a result, the district says.
“There is only so much we can deal with in such a small place,” said a parent with a child in the local elementary school. “We’re asking for laws to be enforced. It’s that simple. We don’t want these people out on the street, but we also can’t continue like this.”
Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said he was taken aback by the legal action.
“This took me by surprise because we are aggressively enforcing the code and doing far more than that,” he said, adding that he has initiated a revitalization campaign for Hampton Bays.
“There is a feeling that things are out of control — but they’re going in the right direction,” he said.
Schneiderman said property values have actually been rising in the hamlet in recent years while school enrollment is on the decline.
A mostly working-class area for decades, Hampton Bays has in recent years seen an influx of illegal immigrants — many of whom labor for the affluent East End residents and businesses.
Most of the hamlet’s hotels once served summer tourist crowds but many have struggled in recent years and property owners have instead rented rooms to local workers.
School Superintendent Lars Clemensen did not return a phone call seeking comment.
https://nypost.com/2018/02/02/hampto...mmigrant-kids/
