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18 comments:
Wasn't Ayalon the same board member who proposed handing out birth control pills and condoms to students and supported a policy where the schools would arrange for abortions for children as young as 12 and it was going to be none of the parent's business?
Typical Democrats--screw the children in the name of pushing an extreme liberal agenda.
Kelt Cooper, the choice of the Board of Education (BOE) to lead New Britain schools, rose to the top of the finalist list based on a good educational resume, accomplishments with English Language Learners and extensive experience in diverse districts in Arizona and Texas.
The winnowing process concluded after two days of interviews by advisory committees and the BOE. In a divided vote that stood at 5 to 5 during a tense meeting, Cooper finally got the nod 6 to 4 and may be the schools' chief come July 1 subject to contract negotiations and a critically important site visit to the Texas district of Del Rio where he is superintendent now.
We found out about it from a retired New Britain music teacher and passionate advocate for education who posted on her Facebook page a disturbing story from the Texas Observer after what must have been a cursory search on the web.
The balanced and thoroughly researched story, written by Melissa Del Bosque, covers Superintendent Cooper's controversial actions to expel students who allegedly were crossing over the Del Rio International Toll Bridge from Ciudad Acuna. The word allegedly is important here because Cooper turned out to be wrong about most of the children nabbed at the border by school employees who passed out warnings. All but a few were legally entitled to an education in his district. Nothing like using a sledge hammer to kill a fly to obstruct the civil rights of immigrant children.
From the Observer story: Del Rio's alleged controversial crackdown on border-crossing Mexican students.
Del Rio's alleged controversial crackdown on border-crossing Mexican students.
At first it looked like business as usual in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Sept. 9. The line of cars on the Del Rio International Toll Bridge stretched back toward Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, as people waited to cross northward. Headlights glimmered in the dawn as U.S. immigration officers waved folks through – all except for vehicles with children, which were directed to exit to the right of the bridge.
There, Del Rio school district employees handed out fliers citing Texas educational and penal codes. "Upon conducting a check at the Port of Entry your child was observed crossing into the United State from Mexico to attend school. Your child will be withdrawn from the school immediately," the notices read in part. "Please come to the Office of Pupil Services to provide proof of residence in the United States."
About 200 notices were issued that morning. The orders had come from Del Rio's new school superintendent, Kelt Cooper, who has made it a priority to root out Mexican residents attending school in his district.
Port Director Mike Perez, who has worked at the bridge since 1979, says that previous school administrators occasionally came to the bridge with clipboards jotting down students' names. But "it hadn't been done for a few years," he says. "The flier is new. I've never seen that done before."
The Del Rio News-Herald headlined its story "District Cracks Down on 'Illegal' Students." Cooper told the paper that a census taken two day earlier had provoked the crackdown. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents—at Cooper's request—had counted the number of school-age children crossing on Monday, Sept. 7. On Monday mornings, families typically return to Del Rio after spending the weekend with relatives in Ciudad Acuña. Perez says that agents counted about 500 children.
Cooper said the situation was "out of control." "When we have vans with Coahuila license plates dropping kids off at elementary schools and a report that says hundreds of kids are coming across," Cooper told a News-Herald reporter, "we have a problem. With these kinds of numbers, it was out of control. … (I)t was right in our face." What wasn't explained in the story was that all 500 children that crossed that Monday were either U.S. citizens, Legal Permanent Residents or had valid student visas to attend private schools in Del Rio.
CNN and Fox News picked up on the local story and ran with it. In short order, Cooper became a national hero to anti-immigration activists. But local civil rights organizations began looking into potential rights violations. "There was no due process," says Courtney Schusheim, an attorney with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid in Del Rio. "If you came across the bridge, you were automatically withdrawn from school."
New Britain Democratic Town Chairman John McNamara said he was disturbed that the NB schools spent $100,000 on a consultant to screen applicants, but learned about the controversy involving Kelt L. Cooper only hours before it had to choose between him and another finalist.
At least one board member was also dissatisfied: The day after the board made the job offer, Aram Ayalon said that troubling details about Cooper were never raised during the yearlong search for a superintendent.
"This information was not brought to our attention until the last moment, and it came from the people in the community, not the consultant we hired to do checks on these applicants," Ayalon said.
Ayalon was one of several board members who voted Wednesday against offering Cooper a contract, but they were outvoted 6-4 by a coalition that included board President Sharon Beloin-Saavedra.
The Del Rio News-Herald headlined its story "District Cracks Down on 'Illegal' Students." Kelt Cooper told the paper that a census taken two day earlier had provoked the crackdown. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents—at Cooper's request—had counted the number of school-age children crossing on Monday from Mexico.
http://www.texasobsever.org/cover-story/child-x-ing
Kelt Cooper blames the local paper the Del Rio News-Herald for blowing things out of proportion. "This became a big deal because the local newspaper said we were turning away illegals. That's what created the fervor," he says. "I would be surprised if people didn't get their cackles up. It's clearly something that civil liberty groups would have a concern with, because Plyler v. Doe was already heard in the U.S. Supreme Court, and that's not something we can thumb our nose at."
Frank:
I know you are not allowed to reprint Herald articles but you also know that Stacom is a pawn of the Dem Admin . in NB.
If you talk with Jim Sanders he'll give you the straight report on what Sherwood tried to do at a BOE executive session - he tried to invade the privacy of a session and was summarily told to leave. Sherwood allegedly threatened the BOE Chair with political retaliation if the BOE chose Cooper.
Supposedly it was DTC Chair, McNamara and Sherwood that were the accusers and who used Ayalon as a stooge to bring their plot forward.
Del Rio's School Crackdown.
The law is clear when it comes to a student's immigration status. In its 1982 decision in Plyler v. Doe, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that school officials cannot ask about a student's citizenship status. But according to Texas state law—Del Rio school district superintendent Kelt Cooper says that he was following—children must reside in the district of Del Rio when they attend public schools in the state of Texas.
To John McNamara - - If you are goingto comment you should do your homework and get your facts straight. The COST for the concultant $ 17,000. NOT $100,000 that you claim.
Sharon did everything right. And Aram Ayalon listened to the explamation that Cooper made when Sharon asked him tp explain the requirement of residentcy policy. Aram asked NO questions and seemed to agree Dr. Coopers explanation.
Dr. Cooper also said the his Board of Education completely agreed with his actions
Sounds to me like Dr. Cooper was doing exactly what he was being paid to do, and that is to protect the best interests of the taxpayers of Del Rio--the people paying his salary.
Frank:
It's amazing to me that neither the Courant nor the Herald have included in their articles on the BOE's vote for the new Superintendent, anything about the part played by Sherwood, McNamara the lesser and their stooge, Aram Ayalon in his - Sherwood's - aborted invasion attempt of a BOE executive session. Apparently, Phil Sherwood has muzzled the press, also.
Allegedly, Sherwood tried - unsuccessfully - to gain access to a BOE executive session and was turned away by the BOE Chair. Allegedly again, Beloin was threatened by Sherwood to the effect that if she voted for/supported Cooper and not White, Beloin-Saavedras political career in NB would be jeopardized.
Ater 5 months of the O'Brien Administration, this city has been turned into a de facto, dictatorship.
This time, Sherwood has gone too far in trying to strong-arm the BOE. He should be summarily dismissed by O'Brien.
What makes you think that everything Sherwood did wasn't under direct orders of O'Brien?
To the last blogger questioning O'Briens involvement. Because that is the way the Communists manage. If, by chance, he is not involved he should FIRE Sherwood immediately.because Sherwood is destroying any chance of O'Brien being re-elected.
Sherwood is a loose cannon.
Don't worry, I am confident our slimy leader will find a way to lie his way out of it.
When are we going to elect people who have ethic and moral values?
All you have to do is vote for people that don't have a "D" next to their name.
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