And so it begins. Montgomery College, in preparation for the pending onslaught of illegal immigrant students registering this fall at "in-county rates" due to passage of the Maryland Dream Act, has begun to take cost-cutting measures [“Senior citizens hit by Montgomery College’s art department changes,” June 22]. The first to get the axe are Montgomery County’s most vulnerable — its senior citizens who are usually on fixed incomes. Seniors currently qualify for the college's senior tuition waiver and pay $106 for art classes. It's a wonderful opportunity for our most respected citizens to get out and about, and socialize with their peers. More than 400 seniors take advantage of this county benefit each semester.

Now, Montgomery College's Board of Trustees and president have decided that senior citizens, in the name of fiscal responsibility, must pay triple the original amount in tuition and fees, a sum few, if any, can reasonably afford. Why is this happening? Because Montgomery College President Dr. DeRionne P. Pollard, with the full support of Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and the entire County Council, was one of the most vocal advocates for in-state tuition for Maryland's illegal alien college students during the Maryland Dream Act hearings in Annapolis.

Montgomery College, which openly admits to providing illegal immigrants lower "in-county rates" instead of required “out-of-county rates” years before the Maryland Dream Act passed, doesn't seem to have a problem violating federal and state laws, college policy or, I suspect, the laws of physics in their quest to “educate” anyone within five paces of school property. With an ever growing illegal immigrant population in Maryland, so what if a few hundred senior citizens can't play with clay and paint? Pollard needs the cash and room for taxpayer subsidized illegal immigrant students.

One solution to this dilemma? For about half of Pollard’s astounding $250,000 annual salary, combined with the savings in disbanding County Executive Ike Leggett's unnecessary multi-person security detail, Montgomery County’s senior citizens could continue to enjoy the subsidized rate for their art classes. Not practical, you say? Well, no need to worry. Maryland citizens have put the Maryland Dream Act on ice for the next 15 months and maybe permanently through the petition process. Senior citizens throughout Montgomery County will be able to vote up or down on the referendum for “in-county/in-state tuition” for illegal immigrants, and in effect, on their art class tuition costs while voting their November 2012 election ballot.

Brad Botwin, Rockville