Clarifying the “English-only” resolution recently adopted by Oak Point

by Chad Jones

On Monday, the city council of Oak Point, a town of roughly 3,000 not too far east of Denton, passed a resolution declaring English as the city's official language. The measure narrowly passed by a 3-2 vote.

Like all immigration news, this story is obviously controversial. But instead of ranting about whether it's right or wrong, I'd just like to clarify what it will and won't do.

What it won't do

WFAA's Shelly Slater recently reported that, under said resolution, a new Spanish church being built in Oak Point will be forced to take down its Spanish sign. Also, writes Slater, Spanish or Chinese restaurants will be required to speak English and issue English menus.

"Not true," said Councilman Jim Almond, the originator of the resolution, who admitted to being a little ticked off at the misconceptions (and who also seemed a little irked at having to talk to me in general; he's gotten mucho phone calls).

"Businesses like the church and others will not be changed by the resolution. It was designed mainly to, as much as possible, have our city government not print our official documents in anything but English."

Backing up that statement comes the official language of the resolution (available via the city's website), which states:

What it will do

Because the resolution is a resolution and not an ordinance, its intended reach and scope is minimal.

For sure, the city of Oak Point will henceforth not issue any city documents, such as council meeting agendas, in any language other than English. In the past, Almond asserted that city officials had to spend time and money (how much of either he couldn't exactly say) on trying to translate information into Spanish.

"We have interpreters come to our city hall now and that’s not something we should do," he said.

As a result, non-English speaking residents will now have to get someone (a friend, a family member, who knows) to do some translating on their own time, if they want to know what the next city meeting will be about.

Interestingly, however, Section 3 of the "English only" resolution is titled "Exceptions," and it lists all the ways the city actually can write and distribute information in other languages. A few of these exceptions are:

• "to protect and promote the public health, sanitation and public safety," (makes sense)
• "to promote trade, commerce and tourism," (of course)
• to "collect payments" (sure thing)
• and to "teach or encourage the learning of languages other than English." WHAT?

Yes, under this "English only" resolution, the City of Oak Point can send out information in non-English languages to encourage the learning of non-English languages.

Confusing? Yes. Contradictory? It would appear so. But Councilman Almond would contend that, above all else, the resolution should be viewed as a symbolic message with a higher purpose (so ignore that other stuff).

"This resolution, like the one in Farmers Branch, will show Washington that we don’t approve of this damn Amnesty Bill and that people are fed up with taxpayer dollars going to enable people to not learn the language of this country," said Almond.

As of the 2000 census, 7 percent of the population in Oak Point is said to be Latino, though no figure has been given to indicate how many of the city's residents do not speak English. When asked if Oak Point is aiming to offer English language classes for its citizens, Almond responded:

"No, it is not the responsibility of the city to teach anyone English. It is their own responsibility."

As for the resolution's indirect consequences, such as alienating non-English speaking populations or causing national embarrassment for dissenting Oak Point citizens*, Almond contends that the majority of citizens agreed with the measure, which is why he drafted it in the first place.

"I've spoken with a lot of people, and this is the general feeling," he said. "There are those who disagree, but most Oak Point residents do not."

In related news, U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay moved on Tuesday to prolong suspension of Farmers Branch's ordinance.

*back-up files available here include copies of email opinions sent to the city—nine for the measure and eight against it

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