ANAHEIM : Trustee Wants Mexico Billed for Students
Anaheim Union High School District Trustee Harald G. Martin proposed sending a bill to the Mexican Consulate in Santa Ana for the cost of educating students who are in the country illegally, a suggestion his fellow trustees rejected as unworkable: “We should submit a bill to the consulate in Santa Ana,” he said. “We should tell them, ‘If we provide a service, you have to pay the bill.’ ”
Martin said the district should determine how many of the district’s students are in the country illegally and calculate the cost of educating those students. “All we’re asking is (for Mexico) to pay its fair share of the cost of what’s going on here.”
Trustee Robert Stewart said the district would have to deduct the money it receives from the state for educating students and that the effort to determine how many students are not legal residents would turn into a “witch hunt.” “I’m also concerned about the cost of gathering the information,” Stewart said.
Board President R.A. (Molly) McGee said it would be unfair to single out students from Mexico when there are students from other countries residing illegally in the district.
Martin countered that Mexico was the country closest to the district and “the biggest situation is with them.”
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