| Posted on Wed, Sep. 11, 2002 |   |
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Board of Education nominee's offbeat ideas spark uproar
The Kansas City Star Saying "we can only take being slapped around so much," Hispanic leaders have mounted an effort to stop conservative Republican Connie Morris of St. Francis from joining the Kansas Board of Education. Morris, who beat board Chairman Sonny Rundell in the August primary and faces no Democrat in November, maintains that children of undocumented immigrants should be barred from public schools. That view is contrary to federal law, and it infuriates Hispanic groups, which have started a petition drive against her. Morris released a statement late Tuesday, defending her position and saying she had no intention of stepping aside. "Senior citizens often work part-time just to pay bills -- yet the illegal alien is provided a free education, welfare, food stamps, medical care," Morris wrote. "We cannot afford to continue to be held hostage to this kind of loose and unpatriotic expenditure of the American dollar." That amounts to an attack on children and their future, said Bob Hernandez, vice president of the Wichita Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which organized the drive. "If you deny someone knowledge, then you deny them any kind of power, and I think that is a despicable thing to do to a kid," Hernandez said. In response to the criticism of Morris, Rundell announced Tuesday that he would be a write-in candidate for the 5th District seat, which represents all or part of 41 counties in western Kansas. He said he had received a large number of requests that he do so. "I realize this is going to be an uphill battle, but the Hispanic children are very dear to my heart," said Rundell of Syracuse, a moderate Republican. "To deny education to children based on their heritage or the language they speak is illegal and immoral." Morris said that Kansas taxpayers should not bear the burden of educating the children of "illegal immigrants." "In the past 20 years, tremendous and horrible crimes have been committed against the American citizen and taxpayer -- including the flow of thousands of illegal immigrants," she wrote. "Perhaps, with time, a much-needed change can take place in this arena. "The worst crime committed in this case is that of the illegal parent whose own choices have jeopardized their precious children. It is not the Kansas taxpayers' burden to bear this responsibility." Hernandez said he called Morris a week ago to make sure he understood her point of view. He then took the matter that day to his chamber of commerce, which launched the petition drive. The petition, which has no force of law, calls upon Morris to remove her name from the Nov. 5 ballot or drop out immediately. "Maybe the public outcry will be strong enough that she will step down," Hernandez said. A half-dozen other Hispanic groups in Wichita have joined in the drive. So has a Johnson County group called Kansas Families United for Public Education, which formed this spring to push for candidates that support education. Co-founder Dave Raffel of Shawnee said his group plans to post the petition at its Web site, www.saveourpublicschools.com, within a few days. He supports the effort against Morris, he said, and is lending the Web site to help out. Also in the fray is Winston Brooks, superintendent of public schools in Wichita. He wrote a letter, published last weekend in The Wichita Eagle, to express his "personal and professional outrage" at Morris' view, which he called "racist and elitist." Ray Daniels, superintendent of the Kansas City, Kan., School District, said he supported Brooks wholeheartedly. "Winston was right on target," Daniels said Tuesday. Schools are here to serve children, no matter what their background, Daniels said. The Hispanic population in the Kansas City, Kan., district is about 25 percent, Daniels said. He doesn't know how many are undocumented immigrants -- it is not a question that is asked. The Hispanic population in Kansas has grown significantly in the past decade, particularly around Dodge City and Garden City, both in the district Morris seeks to represent. Morris wrote that she was praying that "God's special mercy will surround the illegal parent during this time of controversy." "I have suffered the anguish of poverty, but I do not pretend to understand the agony the illegal must feel at this time. They are in my deepest prayers." To reach Diane Carroll, call (816) 234-7704 or send e-mail to dcarroll@kcstar.com. |
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