N.Va. Hit With Cost Of School Migration

"The combination of what's happening in Prince William and our own budget concerns increases anxiety across the system," said Deirdre Lavery, principal of Glasgow Middle School in the Alexandria section of Fairfax, where 14 students transferred from Prince William this school year.

The transfers come as most local governments are strapped for revenue because of the sagging real estate market.

Local leaders outside Prince William rejected Stewart's assertion that the exodus will increase political pressure to crack down on illegal immigrants. Fairfax leaders recently increased funding for the Enhanced Code Enforcement Strike Team, intended to combat property blight and crowding, which some residents have blamed on immigrants. Leaders have been careful to "focus on behavior and not demonize categories of people," said Gerald E. Connolly (D), chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

"It's silly for Mr. Stewart to refer to any jurisdiction as a 'sanctuary county,' " Connolly said. "That's just inflammatory and demagogic."

Immigration advocates also disputed Stewart's claim that those leaving Prince William are primarily illegal immigrants.

"The majority of our families here were mixed-status families," said Nancy Lyall, a volunteer with Mexicans Without Borders. "You're forcing the legal residents to leave the county as well. And, of course, many of the children are legal as well, and they're being forced to leave, too."

Still, the Prince William migration could place further pressure on Fairfax's code enforcement efforts. It is a reversal of the trend of immigrants moving to Prince William to find affordable housing. Their return to the inner suburbs could lead to more instances of the kind of crowding that officials are seeking to halt.

Arlington's Randolph Elementary School, for instance, "has gotten back" some of the very Latino students whose families had moved away, Superintendent Robert G. Smith said. Smith said his schools are able to absorb the students for now, like Fairfax.

But he urged the State Board of Education, which asked the school systems in March to measure the Prince William exodus, to consider helping schools pay for the new students.

"We don't have an offer of help at this point, but I would certainly welcome it," Smith said.

Staff writer Michael Alison Chandler contributed to this report.