Record of Bergen County, N.J., on the postponed deportation of a Honduran immigrant:

A storm has once again intervened in the lives of a family in Paramus, this time in a good way.

Karla Garcia, an illegal immigrant and mother of three, was scheduled to be deported this week to Honduras. But flooding there in the wake of a storm has delayed her deportation temporarily.

It should be delayed permanently.

We understand that immigration reform is necessary. Some system must be found to deal with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in this country, including 500,000 in New Jersey.

But that reform must be humane and compassionate. It should not include breaking up families, particularly when some members of the family are already U.S. citizens.

Garcia's husband is a U.S. citizen. The youngest of her three sons was born here and is a U.S. citizen. Garcia crossed the Mexican border in 2001 with her two oldest sons to be with her husband, who had come to this country legally to find work after they suffered devastating losses during Hurricane Mitch in Honduras.

The family lived in Louisiana until they lost everything during Hurricane Katrina. They were then relocated to Paramus by the Red Cross. As Staff Writer Elizabeth Llorente has reported, the borough welcomed them and provided the family shelter. The school district hired Garcia's husband as a custodian. Local groups collected donations. And the family settled in, taking part in community activities and making friends.

But last summer, their home was raided by immigration agents and Garcia was arrested. She lost a cleaning job she had held. She was scheduled to be deported in October, but that deportation was delayed when her husband became ill.

Supporters have tried to keep Garcia here with her family. Dozens of Paramus residents have written to immigration officials. About 500 residents have signed a petition. Aides for Sen. Bob Menendez recently asked federal immigration officials for a reprieve for Garcia based on the flooding conditions in Honduras.

Garcia learned this week that she would not be deported, two days before she was to leave. Now she is happy that she will be with her family through the holidays, but she is not unpacking her suitcases.

The question must be asked: What is gained by breaking up this family?

Even some supporters of stringent immigration reform are reluctant to tear parents and children apart.

Vince Micco, the recent Republican candidate for Congress in the 9th District, said being here illegally is wrong, but "it's even more immoral to break up families."

And Rep. Scott Garrett, the conservative Republican incumbent who recently won re-election in the 5th District, which includes Paramus, said when children who are citizens have parents facing deportation, "It's a difficult situation, and I think you have to look at them on a case-by-case basis."

It seems clear that this case is one of those that should be considered in light of extenuating circumstances. The family has already struggled to surmount severe hardship more than once. They have finally found a home in Paramus and have the strong support of the community.

Immigration officials should reconsider Garcia's case, put her on the path to citizenship and allow her to stay.

Houston Chronicle on financial education in schools:

Next to election results, the most important numbers for many Americans may be their credit scores.

There's at least one very simple lesson for average Americans in the Wall Street/subprime mess: Some of us are pretty clueless about how credit works, and we need to fix that.

As a nation, maybe we need to add a "C'' to the traditional curriculum of the Three R's. That's "C'' as in credit and how to use it wisely and well. Flunking this financial basic helped land us in our current predicament.

To be sure, many of us do handle credit responsibly. Most of us pay off our credit card balances each month. A majority of U.S. households (55 percent) owe nothing at all on credit cards, according to the MSN Money Web site.

What's worrying is that more than a third of those who do carry balances of more than $10,000 on their cards have annual incomes under $50,000, according to MSN Money columnist Liz Pulliam Weston.

The Chronicle's Shannon Buggs preaches on this topic quite regularly. Recently, she featured some eye-catching advice from a flamboyant billionaire, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Cuban has a boot camp approach: Forget about investing. Pay off your debt now. That idea may not work for everyone but it certainly points us in the right direction.

While we're at it, a word to the credit card pushers: You helped get us into this, too. You should do your part to help get us out.

Enough of the weasel wording on credit offers that is specifically designed to push less-than-careful consumers into usurious interest rates. Enough of the offers to high school students with no work history.

Now, the credit card industry is shutting off credit even to those with perfect credit scores because it's no longer a license to print money.

This won't do, either.

As the nation wakes up to a new day politically and continues its climb out from under the economic rubble, let's make sure our children know better.

Just as Sputnik launched a generation of scientific and mathematics education in this country in the 1950s, the debt debacle should provide the painful boost to lift financial education to greater emphasis in our schools.

That is the long-term answer and a wise investment in our future.

The Daily Journal of Vineland, N.J. on U.S. dependence on foreign oil:

Gas prices dropping below $2 a gallon? At a station on Delsea Drive in Vineland yesterday, the sign advertised an eye-popping $1.93 for a gallon of regular unleaded gas. By today it might well have dropped a few pennies more.

A few short months ago, we thought such low gas prices were a relic of the past only to be fondly remembered.

But the worldwide economic slowdown caused by the financial crisis and the reduction of speculation in the energy markets have pushed down oil prices more than $2 below the summer high. Prices have been so depressed that OPEC countries are concerned and plan to reduce oil production this month.

The rapidly falling prices for fossil fuels are providing much-needed relief to consumers, but there is a hidden danger — that the United States will lose its urgency to formulate an energy policy that weans the country off its dependence on foreign oil.

As demand increases with an economic recovery and supply decreases, prices will rise again. If the United States is lured into a false sense of complacency and does nothing to reduce its dependence on oil, the country will find itself in the same desperate situation it was in only a few months ago.

Congress and the country must increase efforts to identify and develop new technologies and alternative energy sources.

Our country must get serious about investing in energy alternatives, such as wind, solar, coal/hydrogen technology and viable biofuels. Congress should eliminate the tax breaks for oil companies and provide tax incentives to encourage the use of alternative fuels.

Raising fuel-mileage standards is an energy-saving idea, too, for a country that consumes more than 20 percent of the world's oil. "Drill, baby, drill" is not the answer. It won't reduce energy consumption or have any impact on the world market for decades to come, if at all.

Global warming is real and will have long-term effects worldwide. It won't just disappear, as the $4 a gallon gas prices did. Our country's dependence on foreign oil still poses a threat to national security and the economy. Americans forget about these realities at our own peril.

San Antonio Express-News on a uniform graduation rate:

Finally, a federal regulation establishes a national uniform graduation rate that will ensure consistency in the way states calculate those figures.

It has been long overdue.

Because of the difficulty in tracking graduation rates, making effective comparisons between the states has been almost impossible. Left to their own devices, states have developed their own ways of calculating the rates.

Texas' questionable methods of calculating the number of high school dropouts have routinely come under fire. In recent years, the Texas Education Agency has reported graduation rates of 84 percent, while the Education Research Center and Education Week came up with a 66.8-percent rate.

Texas is not the only state whose numbers have raised eyebrows. Several states report graduation rates 10 to 20 percentage points higher than those found by independent researchers.

A couple of years ago, Texas started to phase in the standards developed by the National Center for Education Statistics, and that should prove helpful in the state's efforts to comply with the new federal mandate.

The new graduation calculation rules are part of Education Secretary Margaret Spelling's extension of the No Child Left Behind rules to the high school grades announced late last month.

By 2011, states must begin using a uniform formula to determine the percentage of ninth-graders who earn a diploma within four years.

If states are going to be accountable for their graduation rates and be forced to improve those rates for minority students as well as those with disabilities, they all need to work off the same page.

According to the Education Trust, one of every four high school freshmen fails to graduate. One of its recent studies suggests this may be the first generation that fares worse than their parents when it comes to education and completing high school.

It is estimated that one half of minority students do not get out of high school on time.

Not everyone is cut out for college, and there are many successful individuals who have prospered without a college degree, but the odds remain stacked against the high school dropout.

In today's world, a high school dropout earns about $17,300, compared to $52,700 for someone with a bachelor's degree.

In Texas, it is estimated that one class of dropouts costs taxpayers $377 million a year in terms of medical services, prison costs and lost revenue from fees and taxes.

Establishing an accurate accounting of the number of high school dropouts will not solve the problem, but it is crucial information needed to develop solutions to the crisis.