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Illegal Minors Send Arizona Schools Into Fiscal Crisis

Arizona Department of Education Superintendent of Public Instruction, John Huppenthal, announces Arizona AIMS student results and school and district Letter Grades

Arizona Department of Education Superintendent of Public Instruction, asks U.S. Education Secretary for additional federal funding to compensate for unaccompanied minors bussed to Arizona by the federal government

Sedona AZ (August 20, 2014) Today, the State of Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal is asking U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan for additional federal funding to deal with the impact of unaccompanied minors brought to Arizona by the federal government.

“Arizona’s school districts already are dealing with budgets cut to the bone. The possible influx of additional immigrants will put an added financial burden on our local school districts, our education resources and ultimately, Arizona taxpayers,” said Superintendent Huppenthal.

Huppenthal said the true impact of unaccompanied minors on local school systems won’t be clear, until classes are well under way. Currently, at least 202 youth have been placed with sponsor families in Arizona, according to the Office of Refugee Resettlement under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Funding costs for these unaccompanied minors total an estimated $1,026,564 based on average state funding per Arizona student of $5,082. Costs could be higher, based on the specific needs of individual students.

Huppenthal also echoed Governor Jan Brewer’s concerns about the potential cost to taxpayers.“As the Governor said, this is a crisis of the federal government’s creation,” he said. “This crisis is far reaching because it impacts Arizona’s families at the school level and it impacts taxpayer wallets.”

The Superintendent sent a letter to the Education Secretary today, writing in two of several paragraphs, “I am also deeply concerned by the widely reported accounts in the media that President Obama, via executive order, will grant a form of amnesty to illegal immigrants in the coming weeks and months. The potential fiscal crisis that could result due to a massive influx of amnesty-seeking illegal immigrant school-aged youth crossing into Arizona from its unsecured border could potentially cost Arizona taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars – a financial burden that Arizona schools and Arizona taxpayers cannot afford…

arizona department of education logo…It is with this unprecedented action by the federal government in mind that I am asking you and the U.S. Department of Education to provide solid information on the total number of children actually being placed in Arizona and where they are being placed, and to pay for the added educational expense of those school-aged illegal immigrants being relocated to Arizona. It is unreasonable to ask Arizona schools and Arizona taxpayers to pay for these expenses. These unaccompanied minors in question did not illegally cross into Arizona, but rather they were bussed into our state by the federal government.”

The Arizona 2014-15 school year has begun with its allocated budget, resources and staffing in place, and an immediate response from the federal government is requested. The federal government has not provided an official count of the children sent to Arizona, or the number of children still to be bussed.

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For the best Arizona news and views, read www.SedonaEye.com daily!

2 Comments

  1. DRAMA says:

    Illegal Minors Send Arizona Schools Into Fiscal Crisis?
    How so? 202 kids are breaking the bank?
    I have twenty kids on my local bus stop that do not live here when when school is out. They live in another country during summer recess. Our schools have been accepting undocumented kids for years in AZ, now we have a problem?
    Manage it or stop doing it.

  2. You compared illegal aliens to illegal aliens. Your 30 kids times every bus stop equals 49th place in US education. Now drama?

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