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Paying the price for bad policy
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 01/30/06
Freehold Borough offers a case study in how damaging an uncontrolled influx of illegal immigrants can be to a town. Borough taxpayers have carried the burden of an ever-expanding population of Spanish-speaking immigrants, many of whom are here illegally, work under-the-table jobs and don't contribute to the tax base.

To accommodate this population, the Freehold elementary school district has adjusted its curriculum. It dropped the world language program to create a bilingual program. Now the district is being told by the state Department of Education that it should hire at least six additional staff members because its test scores are down, due largely to its poor and Spanish-speaking population. State monitors also told the district last week that it needs to reinstate the world language program.

After hearing the monitors' recommendations for more staff, including a supervisor for the English as a Second Language program, school board members said they would like to do more to help the disadvantaged population. But the money's not there. Borough taxpayers already are overwhelmed and the state hasn't increased its financial support. "We can't spend money we don't have," board Vice President Stella Mayes said.

The flood of illegal immigrants into Freehold increased after borough officials created a muster zone about six years ago to prevent day laborers from gathering in other parts of town. That attracted up to 300 men a day. The borough tried to shut it down in 2004, sparking legal challenges by immigrant advocacy groups. The case is pending in a federal court.

The borough's immigrant population — much of it illegal — has swelled to more than 3,000 people, straining municipal, school and health care services. Adding to the taxpayers' burden with more immigrant-specific school requirements is unfair.

The Freehold school board is considering suing the state over aid payments or applying to become an Abbott district, a designation as one of the poorest school systems, to receive additional money. The board also should press local, state and federal officials to seek long-overdue legislative remedies to the problems caused by illegal immigration.