The school board of a local school district in South Dakota decided they did not want grant funding for helping immigrant students learn English better because, in the words of one board member: “[it] could create a bigger problem down the road.”
That pearl of wisdom was uttered by a board member of the Rapid City Area Schools, on the western edge of South Dakota.
The funds in question are from the federal Title III Immigrant Grant, which are funneled through the state’s board of education to indivudial districts. The total dollar amount in question? $30,000. That’s it; $30K. Funds designed to:
“help ensure that English learners, including immigrant children and youth, attain English proficiency and develop high levels of academic achievement and assist teachers (including preschool teachers), administrators, and other school leaders in developing and enhancing their capacity to provide effective instructional programs.”
After the August 9 vote, several community members and instructors in the district asked a simple question — why the eff did you not even bother to apply? You literally report your numbers, and the state sends you the payment.
Oh, the that number of students for which those funds would have gone to help? Twenty-two. Yup, that’s it, 22. Apparently those were the wrong 22 though. You know, 22 who are not quite like us.
The Rapid City Journal has covered the story in detail. A gem from their reporting — yet another(!) example of why local reporting is vital to maintaining a functioning democracy:
Board Representative and 1st Vice President Gabe Doney responded via email to tell [district teacher Fred] Meyer that by accepting the grant, RCAS was implicitly giving the green light for more immigrants to move to Rapid City [emphasis mine]. He expressed similar sentiments to the Journal, saying that accepting a federal grant pertaining to immigration “could create a bigger problem down the road.”
“Next year is it going to be 100 [students], or 300? Do we really want that in Rapid City? $30,000 could turn into $1 million,” Doney told the Journal.
One hundred students? Oh no! This in a disterict totalling just under 14,000 students K-12.
It’s easy to make jokes about this being South Dakota, led by the estimable governor Kristi Noem. Let’s not forget though that when it comes to the challenges facing immigrant children, the more we can do to make their educational experiences better, we should not be joking.
The five members of the Rapid City School Board who voted a big ole’ Eff You to those kids deserve every bit of scorn they receive.
Feel like sending them some? Contact info here.
For more details on the story, tv station KELO has this video (sorry, could not get the embed link to work...)
www.keloland.com/…