Reimburse schools for illegal immigrant costs
I was interested to read your Aug. 8 editorial regarding the Anaheim Union High School District. As an elected member of the board of trustees, I took a serious political beating for my stance on illegal immigration in that debate.
Although I still agree that illegal immigration is a serious burden on our public schools, I vigorously disagree that the debate in Anaheim came to nothing.
The board’s 1999 resolution asking the federal government to reimburse school districts for the cost of educating illegal immigrant students opened a national debate. In the 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill, Congress included an aid package to reimburse hospitals for the cost of treating illegal immigrants. Had this debate never taken place, the federal government would never have approved such a package.
I still believe that Congress needs to take steps to stop illegal immigration and to reimburse schools for the cost of serving illegal immigrants, as they have done for the hospitals.
ALEXANDRIA CORONADO
President, Orange County
Board of Education
Costa Mesa
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