Kyrene school bureaucracy hasn't ‘changed'

At the May 12 Kyrene School District Governing Board meeting, our Citizens' Visiting Team saw no "change;" only the same failed bureaucratic views:

1. "Cut budgets of other agencies, but leave ours alone."

2. "When confronted, pass the buck."

3. "Never give a taxpayer an honest answer (or any answer at all)."

No. 3 is actually why we attended; our March 27 letter remained unanswered after six weeks.

We asked for an explanation for a board member's public comment, the board should have been able to answer readily and promptly.

In defending her own and the board's 2004 opposition to Prop 200 during her legislative campaign, board member Rae Waters' letter to the Ahwatukee Foothills News said: "the ...issue with Proposition 200 was that it would have put teachers in the position of violating federal law; teachers are not allowed, by federal law, to ask a student's immigration status for any reason."

Question: please identify by register, name/number, section, subsection, etc. the "federal law" cited to justify opposing the 2004 Prop. 200 campaign and several times afterward by Kyrene member Waters.

For years, school politicians eagerly used "federal law" to reject questions on how much illegal aliens in public schools cost taxpayers: "‘Federal law' prohibits our asking."

With the need for educational spending cuts, it's important to read and verify the contents of relevant "federal laws," but not one school bureaucrat who cites this "federal law" and cannot identify it. Will the Kyrene board "do the job others can't" by identifying the "federal law" cited by Waters?

We knew the answer in advance: the Kyrene Governing Board can't name the "federal law" because it doesn't exist! Input from four national authorities blew the lid off the "federal law" scam, and a 2004 GAO report confirmed it: "federal law" is a bureaucratically-advantageous spin enabling school politicians to protect their taxpayer-funded budgets.

But claiming a ballot initiative would force teachers to violate a federal law that doesn't even exist is total nonsense! 

The adage "repeat a lie long enough and it will become true" tells how the "federal law" scam is now accepted as true. Even journalists parrot it without question.

When presented with evidence of their bogus "federal law" at the public meeting, the board didn't bother trying to pass the buck - they knew they were "busted."

Despite six weeks' advance notice, president Ross Robb had no answer, nor did he suggest it might be "in the mail." At this writing, our March 27 letter remains unanswered. Looks like the Kyrene board likes Axiom No. 3 and doesn't want to "change."

The real reason the board oppose anti-illegal alien laws is protecting their No. 1 priority - their district budget. Illegal alien students inflate their attendance count with higher "per-student" money.

Knowing taxpayers' anger at school taxes spent on illegal aliens, the board hides behind a bogus "federal law" to evade discussion. That Kyrene board members serve their own vested bureaucratic interests doesn't justify their concocting a bogus "federal law" to reject legitimate questions from taxpayers.

This goes beyond "a blind eye and a deaf ear;" the board knowingly uses bureaucratic double-talk to cover up their pandering to illegal aliens against American taxpayers.

Even after public exposure of the bogus "federal law," the board showed no intent to "change" and come clean with taxpayers.

Until they do, I'll continue calling for cuts in the wasteful educational bureaucracy.

State Sen. Russell Pearce estimates the basic cost of illegal aliens in Arizona schools at $1 billion.

Isn't $1 billion the amount Gov. Jan Brewer wants for her "temporary tax increase?"

Sandra Miller has lived in Ahwatukee Foothills for 15 years and has served as a director for the Mountain Park Ranch Homeowners Association. She has written commentaries on the immigration issue since 2004 when she worked on Proposition 200, which required proof of citizenship to vote.