Federal lawsuit alleges District 428 taxpayers spend $7.5 million to educate 1,000 out-of-district students

But they don’t do a very good job of investigating……

Well that won’t change. They will still be too high and it still won’t be enough

According to the District 428 Report Card the actual cost is $13,084 per student. https://illinoisreportcard.com/District.aspx?source=environment&source2=perstudentspending&Districtid=16019428026

Mac McIntyre thank you for clarifying. I didn’t realize it was so expensive.

Yeah those damn kids looking for a quality education! Missing their parents all the time and living with relatives to be in a safe environment for education. THE AUDACITY.

Krysta Zelaya- How much of.a special donation can we put you down for to offset this expense?

How about all the taxes I already pay that go into this school district even though I don’t even have kids?

Also, since you’re so worried about the cost, you should know that at the board meeting on this one woman consulted with a lawyer and was told that to actually pursue kicking a child out of our district is very costly and difficult to do. Because one of our federal amendments is the right to education for all children it is very difficult to convince a judge to side with a school district against a student. So we would be paying for this external auditing company, then we’d have to pay for a lawyer, just so that a judge can most likely rule against us. How does that save us money? And again, so let’s say there are 1000 children that are going to our schools from out of our district and we get a judge that will side with our district. How much money is that saving us vs how much we’re losing from the state, from what we’re spending on this external company, and the cost of a lawyer for the cases for all 1000 children? Someone else at the second meeting did the math on this and I’ll tell you now it does not add up.

Krysta Zelaya do you pay any property tax at all? Do you own a home here? If not, your triggered argument is of no use to the conversation.

Michelle Bejbl Thomas I’ll repeat again, renters pay taxes. You see, the OWNER of the property pays taxes. And since that individual is running a BUSINESS and not a charity, he or she passes on the expense to the renter. (This, of course, is in addition to this little thing called sales tax, which everyone pays…)

(And I don’t know KZ at all, just saying the own vs. rent argument has ZERO validity…)

This is the second time Amy’s had to explain this to you Michelle. Pay attention.

Well you two girls can explain all you like but until you personally receive a property tax bill for thousands of dollars that, if not paid, can cause forfeiture of the home you own you do not pay property tax. If your landlord doesn’t pay property tax on the building you’re in it costs you zero dollars. You lose nothing. Sales tax does not go to school funding. Your smug little argument is incorrect at its core.

Krysta Zelaya, yes, there is a right to due process…it could be simplified if kids were required to go to the school where they reside…and that should be defined as where their legal custodial parent lives…When I get my tax bill and see how much goes to the schools to cover their budget, it upsets me when those costs include out of district kids…if you live in an underperforming school district, demand accountability, and foster a culture that values and respects education and personal achievement..not flaunt the law and do this kind of stuff.

Michelle Bejbl Thomas I own a home in DeKalb. Have for the last 14 years. I pay taxes.

If you rent and your landlord fails to pay taxes, they will lose your home. You’ll still have to move. Who’s smug now, girl?

But, you don’t have to believe me…read what the writer of this article, Mac McIntyre wrote below about how investment properties work…

Give it up Amy. Please.

Michelle Bejbl Thomas Now who’s triggered? The fact is we both pay property taxes through rental and ownership. What you have attempted to do is make an emotional argument. I’m supposed to feel for your situation. But you don’t feel for the situations of these children, so why should I feel for yours?

Ed Burton You may not like that your taxes are going towards children who’s parents do not reside in this district, but the fact is the school district will be spending significantly more to try to kick these kids out. And I’m doing so, losing federal money for each kid. This does not save you money. And again, I do not have children. Why should my taxes go into paying for your child to go to school? Why is there no exemption for me and others in my situation? We are being forced to pay for schools that we don’t have children to attend to. You’re upset about a couple extra kids while I’m paying for the entire district.
To be clear, I don’t mind. I want to live in a community where all children are educated. I’m just trying to show you a different perspective.

Metra is the only thing that can save this town

Undocumented immigrants still pay property taxes so LEGALLY, their children are entitled to education.

It’s literally the law 🙃

Krysta Zelaya ILLEGAL immigrants are not here legally, thus not entitled to any rights/entitlements.

Google is an amazing thing hombre.

SO, they do LEGALLY have the right to education, and if their parents are living in the district they are ENTITLED to education in that district, same as American citizens.

Also, this may be of no interest to you, but since you used the term “illegal” instead of “undocumented”, I would like you to consider this quote by Elie Wiesel (Nobel Peace Prize-winning Holocaust survivor and refugee):
“You, who are so-called illegal aliens, must know that no human being is illegal. That is a contradiction in terms. Human beings can be beautiful or more beautiful, they can be fat or skinny, they can be right or wrong, but illegal? How can a human being be illegal?”
“Because once you label a people ‘illegal,’ that is exactly what the Nazis did to Jews.’ You do not label a people ‘illegal.’ They have committed an illegal act. They are immigrants who crossed illegally. They are immigrants who crossed without papers. They are immigrants who crossed without permission. They are living in this country without permission. But they are not an illegal people.”

Krysta Zelaya who said the out-of-district students are undocumented?

Mac McIntyre No one. Trevor’s post says that “illegal immigrants” shouldn’t be educated in our district. Myself and the law disagree.

Krysta Zelaya unless they rent.

Michelle Bejbl Thomas renters pay taxes, too.

Krysta Zelaya, I agree with you and the law on undocumented immigrants but that is not an issue related to this complaint. Residency within the district is the issue.

Mac McIntyre Reread Trevor’s post he made it an issue.

Krysta Zelaya I’m not claiming that it’s illegal for them to attend, I’m saying that it should be. No one in this country that is here illegally should receive any benefit, privilege, entitlement… that is taxpayer funded. Period.

Trevor A Elliott You literally did. Several times. You were misinformed and I revealed that to you. Accept that you were wrong instead of making excuses. You didn’t know something, now you do. It’s really not a big deal.
Undocumented immigrants are taxpayers. You should look into the things undocumented immigrants are and are not eligible for. The short list is: Not eligible for TANF, SSI, SNAP, Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare, ACA, SS Benefits (even though its estimated undocumented immigrants and heir employers contribute around 12 billion because THEY DO PAY TAXES). UNLESS, they meet eligibility standards. Meaning they have special paperwork allowing them to be here. For example, if they were trafficked and rescued in the US they would be given special papers. They do qualify for WIC, education, and some housing assistance (the kids).
Also, I’m glad you’re not a member of the Supreme Court.

Krysta Zelaya https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/legal-information/school-enrollment-and-residency

All of that being said, at issue is a lawsuit brought with questionable data.

The last I heard the school board was conducting a study to see how much of a problem this is. If that study is being undertaken, this lawsuit jumps the gun and distracts the issue. It’s almost like John Doe is concerned his data will be shown to be feeble. He’s not a genius at all, morelike an impatient fellow who’s gone too far down the complaint road to find an off ramp.

Paulette Lindgren last I heard, the district wasn’t following through with the study.

Krysta Zelaya Not only are undocumented students who live with their parents within the district considered residents, so are students who live in the district with someone other than their parent, i.e., live with a friend or relative who assumes responsibility for the student as long as it is not for the “sole purpose of accessing the educational programs of the school.” “You don’t need a court order of guardianship to sign children up for school. It is illegal for a school to tell you that they can’t enroll your child without a legal document stating you are the guardian. If you’re at least 18 years old and the child lives with you, the school must enroll them as long as they didn’t move in with you just to attend the school. Your child doesn’t have to live in a school district for any amount of days, weeks, or months to establish residency.” https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/legal-information/school-enrollment-and-residency Students who do not actually live at an address, but are using someone else’s address (say a student who lives in Genoa with his/her parent but is only using grandma’s address in DeKalb to attend DeKalb schools because DeKalb offers more academic programs for instance) are not residents of the district. I find it difficult to believe there are 1000 students in the district doing this.

Robert Schlecht Excellent information!

I hope this lawsuit gets traction. No more freeloaders! I have no kids in this school system. Not only do I have to pay your YOUR kids, but also have to pay for undocumented kids. We need a pay as you go system. The more kids you have in the system, the more you pay.

The plaintiff is not looking for money. Pretty sure the lawyer is probably being paid some of those “legal costs” the plaintiff is incurring.

Exactly my thought.

I’d be shocked if he wasn’t party to the suit. I think he pays a lot in property taxes so I understand where his concern is coming from. If the anonymity is upheld I suspect the number of Does might reach the 1000s. Many are afraid to ask questions or comment for fear of retaliation. I’ve talked with several in district employees who share these concerns. I’m wondering if the chair of the DeKalb County Board shares those concerns?

Mac McIntyre he recoups those taxes through the rent he collects doesn’t he?

Melissa Gorbet Butts I think that’s how investment property portfolios are supposed to work. Overhead costs are usually passed on to the consumer. As those taxes are increased so then are the rents and it should concern any rent payer if they are being charged to educate out-of-district students. Renters not subsidized in DeKalb are paying pretty high rates. I certainly would encourage all renters to join in this suit. Anonymity would allow them to do so without fear of retailiation.

I imagine a lot of those out of district students live in Mason properties section 8 housing. Their real estate taxes are written off as a business loss and he brags constantly about not having paid any personal income tax for the last 30 years. But he will sue over just about anything including his hair plugs being defective so it could be him.

Rhino Sandberg One thing I’m certain you and I agree on is the need for some anonymity to avoid retaliation but I’m pretty sure any student living in Mason Properties in DeKalb is not an out-of-district student. I’m not so sure he accepts Section 8 vouchers. In regards to Section 8 renters and real estate taxes they pay 30% of their income in rent regardless of the amount of rent paid to the landlord or the amount of property taxes assessed on the property. If their income is $1000 per month they pay $300 in rent, even if the landlord charges $2500 per month in rent or regardless of what their property taxes are. That’s why I object to the huge property tax discount the DeKalb City Council granted the owners of University Village because again the tenants pay 30% of their income for rent. The owners are allowed to charge market rate for rent, federal taxpayers pay the difference between what the tenant pays and the market rate and the owners get to pocket the difference including any property tax discount they receive. I just don’t think that’s fair or right. I think it cheats the school district, the taxpayers and the tenants.

Thanks for that breakdown Mac on the Section 8. Mason properties does have section 8 housing but it is a minority of their rentals. They have a mix of student and non student rentals, close to a 50/50 split just in the city of DeKalb. The non resident DeKalb school district students are in there non student rentals.

mason?

Jim “jon doe” mason for sure.

See pages 12-15 of the PDF attached to the article

So it came from three “insiders” who estimated 500, 1000, and 1500 (averaged to 1000). What basis do these insiders have to make these wildly different estimates? None, I imagine. Maybe in their spare time they’re following students home?

Yes, they do. In 2015 it cost a little over $13k per student enrolled. State and federal sources pay about 35% of that cost. Local taxpayers pay 65%.