Thread: SC: Illegals imperil academy's funding

http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local_ne ... 7453c.html

Illegals imperil academy's funding
Federal grants hinge on job placement data

Published Sun, Nov 26, 2006

By JONATHAN CRIBBS
The Beaufort Gazette

State and federal money for the Beaufort-Jasper Academy for Career Excellence hinges on the high percentage of graduates it places in jobs each year.

But the director and faculty at the vocational school in Okatie fear that an increase in the number of illegal immigrants at the school could threaten its placement rate -- and federal and state money connected to it -- as it struggles with the prospect of placing them in legitimate jobs.

Although instructors said they have had only sporadic problems placing illegal immigrants in jobs, a significant increase in the number of them taking classes at the academy could put about $91,000 -- state and federal money dedicated to technology and machinery purchasing -- of the school's $3.5 million budget at risk, said Catherine Smith, the academy's director.

"We're struggling with it on a local level and asking someone to help us," she said.

The issue is a little-known Catch-22 to which local and state officials haven't found an answer. One of several benchmarks vocational schools must meet to get federal money is the placement each year of at least 95 percent of graduating students in a job, trade or some other career pathway, including college and the military.

Last year, the school placed about 96 percent of graduating seniors in jobs, and an increase in the number of illegal immigrants who do not have a Social Security number or a visa could cause that placement rate to drop.

A 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling guaranteed a free, public education for all illegal immigrants nationwide. School districts subsequently aren't allowed to ask students if they're citizens, and at ACE, instructors don't typically find out if any of their students are illegal immigrants unless they hear gossiping students or, come job search time, a student doesn't have proper documentation.

"The dilemma that sets up for an educator, and I guess this is my point of view on this, is if you report them to the state as having completed a program, there is an expectation that you will place them," Smith said. "But if you can't place them because there is no documentation, then your funding could be affected because your standards are not met."

Instructors at the school have only anecdotal stories about immigrants -- some of them exceptional students -- who completed the program but weren't able to get jobs. Most if not all of them have been Hispanic -- a fast-growing minority at the school, Smith said.

When Smith took over the academy in 2003, about 20 students were Hispanic, she said. This year, about 55 percent of the school's 425 students are Hispanic, Smith said, and as that minority grows, Smith and instructors worry that the number of illegals will as well.

"What justice are we doing these kids, teaching them a trade where I can't find them a job in it?" said Rob Iulo, the school's auto technology instructor.

Smith and several instructors at the school have appealed to the S.C. Department of Education about the issue, and as of yet the state doesn't have an answer.

"It's an issue, and it's a problem, and it's important," said James Couch, director of the Office of Career and Technology Education at the state education department. "We don't have documented data, but we know we have folks out there in the school system that are illegal."

Couch said Perkins grants that South Carolina vocational schools receive from the state comes directly from the federal government. He said the U.S. Department of Education would have to address the problem before the state could do anything to fix it.

A spokesman at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington said Wednesday that Troy Justesen, the assistant secretary for vocational and adult education, would have to address the issue but was out of town.

Iulo said he hopes the issue is resolved quickly because within the school, some individual programs, such as cosmetology, have to meet the same 95 percent placement rate as the school. In certain cases, one or two illegal immigrants unable to find legitimate work each year could put programs' accreditation in jeopardy.

"I'm unbiased. I really am," said Michael Anderson, the auto body instructor. "And I can see huge issues resulting from this. Somebody needs to figure this out."

Some of the school's programs, such as auto tech and welding, are so popular that only half of the students who apply from the Beaufort and Jasper school districts make it into the program. Brad Childers, the welding instructor, said he doesn't like that the illegal immigrants unable to find work following graduation might take the spot of a U.S. citizen who could.

"They're going to come, and when they come, I gotta hope and pray that they have Social Security numbers," he said.

Iulo said he doesn't want another situation like one he had two years ago. He couldn't help his best student -- an illegal Mexican immigrant -- get work after graduation because he didn't have a Social Security number.

"There's always a kid who excels and is one of your go-to guys," he said. "He was one of them."

Now, according to Iulo, the student works out of his Hilton Head Island backyard, fixing other immigrants' cars and makes about $500 to $600 a week in cash -- a good living but not the kind his teacher had in mind for him.

"It's a mess. It sure is a mess," Anderson said. For now, Smith has taken some precautions to let illegal immigrants know they will have difficulty finding work following graduation. The academy's brochure explicitly says students will need a Social Security number and other mandatory documentation to get jobs.

Other than that, there isn't much she said she can do.

"At this point we're worried about the future impact ... and asking for advice," she said.

Contact Jonathan Cribbs at 986-5517 or jcribbs@beaufortgazette.com. To comment: beaufortgazette.com.

Now, according to Iulo, the student works out of his Hilton Head Island backyard, fixing other immigrants' cars and makes about $500 to $600 a week in cash -- a good living but not the kind his teacher had in mind for him. "

In cash?!?!?! That's a 60,000/year job if you're paying taxes. If you're
getting everything else for free, maybe more.

[/quote]

This is a great test case against Plyler vs Doe. I hope that the school goes to court
about their dilemna.