From the Minneapolis Star Tribune,
Operation Metro Surge could prompt teacher layoffs in St. Paul.
Yes, the crackdown on illegal immigration has somehow led to fewer illegal immigrants.
But more than 500 English learner students, many of whom were immigrants, never returned after the surge or did not enroll as new students this fall.
The Occam’s Razor explanation for this “unexpected” phenomenon is that these English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students have returned south of the border, along with their parents.
Consequences following causes is played off as tragedy,
Because much of the district’s funding is based on how many students are enrolled, the decrease in students will mean a budget shortfall of $4.9 million this school year.
I don’t think that it’s generally understood how effective Operation Metro Surge was in its stated goal of enforcing America’s immigration laws. That said, St. Paul’s school district is not the only locality experiencing a shortfall in ESL students, but all should have seen it coming. That too many ESL teachers were hired is on the district’s administration, and not a burden to be carried by the district’s property taxpayers.
And public school districts aren’t the only entities whose business model depended on ever-increasing levels of illegal immigration. As for St. Paul schools, taxpayers have already been generous enough,
The budget concerns and proposed cuts come less than a year after St. Paul voters approved a $37.2 million-a-year referendum.
Rightsizing.