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By Michael Bielawski
An influx of Afghan students is making up a substantial percentage of new Montpelier public school students for the coming school year – especially in the younger grades – as reported in the July 10 Montpelier Bridge. These are resettled refugees via the state’s resettlement program.
During the June 26 city council meeting the mayor, Jack McCullough, noted that he had recently met with members of the Vermont Afghan Alliance. He shared that there are now 40-to-50 Afghan students in the Montpelier school system, including about 5% of all kindergarten students.
The move is being billed as “Boosting Montpelier’s Declining Student Count,” according to the headline in the capitol city’s community newspaper.
The report notes that there had been a dip in enrollment in Montpelier’s schools over recent years, with the total count falling to 1,063 for the 2023-2024 school year, down from 1,146 which they had for the 2021-2022 year. Now they are scheduled to have 1,185 when school opens again.
How did they get here?
The Afghan refugees arrived here over the years via the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). According to a 2021 presser by Gov. Phil Scott, this is “a national nonprofit resettlement agency that assists people who have migrated to the U.S. to help them live safe and dignified lives.”
It continues that some may have arrived in the summer of 2021. It states, “USCRI’s Vermont Office, Governor Scott, the State Refugee Office at the Vermont Agency of Human Services, and other refugee programs have been pursuing opportunities to welcome refugees over the last several weeks.”
It further notes that some of these refugees may have been specific targets by hostile forces in their home nations. The release states, “The goal is to accommodate some of the many Afghans who are being targeted due to support of the U.S. military and U.S. government agencies, as well as media and non-governmental organizations, following the end of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan.”
The governor is quoted stating “We have a moral obligation to help the people of Afghanistan, who did so much to help us in the War on Terror.”
Vermont 2nd least diverse state, but changing
According to a U.S. Census Bureau 2021 report, Vermont is the “Second whitest state in the nation” but that is changing, even apart from the arrival of Afghan refugees. “The data showed the Hispanic population in Vermont grew by 68.4%, about 6,300 people, between 2010 and 2020, the third-largest percentage increase in the country,” WCAX wrote.
Already under stress
According to a report by Penn State’s Department of Geography, people who come to the U.S. under asylum or refugee status may have a hard time adjusting.
It states, “Refugees and asylum seekers are typically already under stress; however, they also experience ‘anxiety and depression’ (Strang & Quinn, 2019). While these stressors differ from other immigrants, some may be similar, such as the potential of difficulty communicating due to different language or culture. Even the label ‘refugee’ can be difficult, due to the unintended drawbacks that come with the label’s status.”
According to a report by Business Insider, there are public costs associated with bringing over refugees. It states, “On average, it costs about $15,000 to help settle a refugee, including both initial background checks as well as job and English training once they arrive.”
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
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Categories: Education
They just admitted the real reason for migration… govt programs, esp the education system, need reasons to keep running a failed enterprise.
Guess what? VT is a tourist state. Tourism isn’t going to bring productive activity for locals to make a living unless they are catering to tourists (ie, reason why AirBnB is so huge here). Meantime, we have a lack of veterinarians, nursing homes, skilled trades (unless you’re building an AirBnB-ready huge home), indoor recreation (like theaters, bowling alleys, concert venues, swimming pools), and in-person shopping except for a few major cities. Walmart is the biggest employer in NEK. That’s it… besides the city govt.
I see the roads are awful in Newport. We are getting wallet-jacked with RE tax increases every year, but the city’s only concern is to keep replanting flowers every few weeks all over Main Street… screw the asphalt, tho. Why bother fixing that when we can point to it and blame climate change? And blame cow poop runoff when someone literally left the crap spigot open, not once, but twice, at the wastewater treatment facility.
The uppities on the Right are the laziest of all the uppities, tho. And they do not impress me, nor do I sympathize with them whatsoever, when they complain about their precious AirBnB being taxed. They are the very first ones turning away from helping anyone. They say, “Go apply for aid,” and then quack about taxes and the school system feeding everyone even tho these kids’ moms get WIC and SNAP.
It really is a sh*tshow in VT. And it’s no surprise it has a GOP governor. Like I said, the uppities on the Right are just as bad as the Socialists on the Left. They are working together to rape the local working class b/c it’s all about me-first and screw everyone else. So, when I read how upset y’all are, you have no clue how upset we working people are who struggle and you think we’re on your side just b/c we ain’t Democrats.
Think again. Migration might be what changes things around here in the long run.
I hope. I sure rather check out their groceries at Walmart than most of the rude locals and the influx of tourists, who are completely disrespectful and mindless about being mere visitors. Anyway, that’s my two cents. And yeah, I’m a 1st Gen American of a refugee family. This country hasn’t seen hardship in nearly 200 years.
This post seems AI generated.
Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan placed the country under murderous tyranny.
It’s about ballots folks not votes!!!
Where are they living? I thought we had a housing shortage in VT?
I can tell you someone bought at least one family a $400k duplex home in one of the most sought-after neighborhoods in Montpelier. That’s just one that I know of.
So everyone else’s property taxes will go down right?
Ka-BANG! Yeah. Both cultures are PERFECT matches; I see the connection.
How about that someone help life-long struggling Vermonters who Sander’s never gave a rat’s patootie about get a home, Dan? Oh wait, they’re white & therefore should be ashamed of their heritage, correct? Another remove-the-comment button leftist.
Guess the entire female genital mutilation procedure is another “to be celebrated” act of “diversity” too, right Dan?
Just wait until deafening explosions thunder across VT and they’re not thunder…..of course that will all be Trump’s fault too.