Attorney General files suit against 16 people for school residency fraud

[Anonymous]

I was making small talk with my Uber driver about real estate one afternoon--she lives in PG, but was originally from DC and knew a lot about DC schools and volunteered that her kids go to Watkins and either S-H or E-H (I wasn't really paying close attention at first). Then she went on to say that her kid wasn't really happy at Watkins so she was going to try to get him into Logan because her niece goes there and she provides a lot of child care for her so it was practically a sibling preference. Then I said, wait, back up a minute, I thought you guys lived in Md? And she said, well, I still use my old DC address because the schools aren't good where we live, and you gotta do what you gotta do, right? She was absolutely comfortable sharing this information with a complete stranger. Oh, and her kids were also attending DPR summer camps at Joe Cole because they were better than the options in Maryland, too.

I am sympathetic to people who are struggling, but this kind of rampant and shameless fraud absolutely should be stopped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was making small talk with my Uber driver about real estate one afternoon--she lives in PG, but was originally from DC and knew a lot about DC schools and volunteered that her kids go to Watkins and either S-H or E-H (I wasn't really paying close attention at first). Then she went on to say that her kid wasn't really happy at Watkins so she was going to try to get him into Logan because her niece goes there and she provides a lot of child care for her so it was practically a sibling preference. Then I said, wait, back up a minute, I thought you guys lived in Md? And she said, well, I still use my old DC address because the schools aren't good where we live, and you gotta do what you gotta do, right? She was absolutely comfortable sharing this information with a complete stranger. Oh, and her kids were also attending DPR summer camps at Joe Cole because they were better than the options in Maryland, too.

I am sympathetic to people who are struggling, but this kind of rampant and shameless fraud absolutely should be stopped.

It's this kind of thing that makes you realize how huge the problem is. My co-worker told me similar things about his cousins. If it's that easy to meet someone who openly admits to it, there must be a lot of people doing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was making small talk with my Uber driver about real estate one afternoon--she lives in PG, but was originally from DC and knew a lot about DC schools and volunteered that her kids go to Watkins and either S-H or E-H (I wasn't really paying close attention at first). Then she went on to say that her kid wasn't really happy at Watkins so she was going to try to get him into Logan because her niece goes there and she provides a lot of child care for her so it was practically a sibling preference. Then I said, wait, back up a minute, I thought you guys lived in Md? And she said, well, I still use my old DC address because the schools aren't good where we live, and you gotta do what you gotta do, right? She was absolutely comfortable sharing this information with a complete stranger. Oh, and her kids were also attending DPR summer camps at Joe Cole because they were better than the options in Maryland, too.

I am sympathetic to people who are struggling, but this kind of rampant and shameless fraud absolutely should be stopped.

It's this kind of thing that makes you realize how huge the problem is. My co-worker told me similar things about his cousins. If it's that easy to meet someone who openly admits to it, there must be a lot of people doing it.

Exactly. I have had more than one acquaintance over the years share something similar with me, with a very nonchalant attitude. It seemed clear that it was common in certain circles. These were MC folks, not struggling.

[Anonymous]

The 630000 people in the District can't subsidize the millions in Maryland. If PG schools aren't good, the 1,000,000 people in Montgomery County can subsidize them . That isn't the job of the District. The District needs to be supporting its own low income families

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The 630000 people in the District can't subsidize the millions in Maryland. If PG schools aren't good, the 1,000,000 people in Montgomery County can subsidize them . That isn't the job of the District. The District needs to be supporting its own low income families

+1

Build a Wall

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a DC resident, I would like to enroll at a VA or MD school of my choice. For free. I am happy to drive ?

Fairfax county will accept your child if you can prove daycare/childcare hardship and find a placement near your work. I know of people doing this in MCLean/TYSONS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The 630000 people in the District can't subsidize the millions in Maryland. If PG schools aren't good, the 1,000,000 people in Montgomery County can subsidize them . That isn't the job of the District. The District needs to be supporting its own low income families

+1

Build a Wall

Your analogy doesn't work. A single county in M D is larger than the District. Allowing residency cheating just isn't sustainable for the District. Also, just try enrolling your kid in the Montgomery County Schools, and see how far you get.

[Anonymous]

I am a dcps teacher. My co-worker lives in MD. She sends 1 kid to VA schools (fraud) & another to DC schools (fraud). I have reported this FOR YEARS. YEARS. No one cares

[Anonymous]

Of course, if DC retroceded to Maryland, this wouldn't happen anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good luck collecting. These people don’t have that money and what’s the deal with asking for 68k for a kid who spent one year in the school. At the beginning of the year the kid was a DC resident He moved during the school year. Where is the apportionment. If I’m on that jury, DC loses just for being an overly aggressive butthole.

It's not about collecting. It's about scaring off future violators.

This. Residency fraud has been going on for years and got worse when DC added free pre-K. It’s time to send a message that DC is not going to keep looking away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good luck collecting. These people don’t have that money and what’s the deal with asking for 68k for a kid who spent one year in the school. At the beginning of the year the kid was a DC resident He moved during the school year. Where is the apportionment. If I’m on that jury, DC loses just for being an overly aggressive butthole.

It's not about collecting. It's about scaring off future violators.

This. Residency fraud has been going on for years and got worse when DC added free pre-K. It’s time to send a message that DC is not going to keep looking away.

The DC Council is tripping over themselves to decriminalize all crimes. They even want to reduce sentences for VIOLENT criminals. Why wouldn’t a MD family roll the dice in order to save thousands of dollars in daycare costs? A teacher in our upper NW school told us in confidence that there are two kids in her class that live in MD and that the parents produce bogus bills each year. There is no will within DCPS to investigate. Meanwhile my kid has 29 in her class and guess which ones are below grade level and require extra teacher time. Thank you Mr. Racine!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was making small talk with my Uber driver about real estate one afternoon--she lives in PG, but was originally from DC and knew a lot about DC schools and volunteered that her kids go to Watkins and either S-H or E-H (I wasn't really paying close attention at first). Then she went on to say that her kid wasn't really happy at Watkins so she was going to try to get him into Logan because her niece goes there and she provides a lot of child care for her so it was practically a sibling preference. Then I said, wait, back up a minute, I thought you guys lived in Md? And she said, well, I still use my old DC address because the schools aren't good where we live, and you gotta do what you gotta do, right? She was absolutely comfortable sharing this information with a complete stranger. Oh, and her kids were also attending DPR summer camps at Joe Cole because they were better than the options in Maryland, too.

I am sympathetic to people who are struggling, but this kind of rampant and shameless fraud absolutely should be stopped.

It's this kind of thing that makes you realize how huge the problem is. My co-worker told me similar things about his cousins. If it's that easy to meet someone who openly admits to it, there must be a lot of people doing it.

Report the driver, youbshould have at least her first name, to Watkins. Racine has filed these suits before but does the city ever actually collect a dime from these cheaters? This will never change until people report every single instance of cheating, it’s the only deterrent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was making small talk with my Uber driver about real estate one afternoon--she lives in PG, but was originally from DC and knew a lot about DC schools and volunteered that her kids go to Watkins and either S-H or E-H (I wasn't really paying close attention at first). Then she went on to say that her kid wasn't really happy at Watkins so she was going to try to get him into Logan because her niece goes there and she provides a lot of child care for her so it was practically a sibling preference. Then I said, wait, back up a minute, I thought you guys lived in Md? And she said, well, I still use my old DC address because the schools aren't good where we live, and you gotta do what you gotta do, right? She was absolutely comfortable sharing this information with a complete stranger. Oh, and her kids were also attending DPR summer camps at Joe Cole because they were better than the options in Maryland, too.

I am sympathetic to people who are struggling, but this kind of rampant and shameless fraud absolutely should be stopped.

Yes convenience is mainly what is is, and perceived and sometimes in reality perception of bad schools. But these folks are not invsiting in the schools where they live, leave it up to others to do the heavy lifting, complain schools are bad, and then cheat. Spend time and energy in these schools as an ex-DCPS teacher and you may find that they are actually a lot better than the schools they are cheating to get into to. Also, parents who lie and cheat are less likely to respond to teachers, attend parent meetings, or involve their children in other after-school activities because there whole life is built on a lie. Bad for the whole school community!

[Anonymous]

Stop voting for Idiots on council like Grosso, Nadeua and ailvermen. Or a Bowser who is every bit a part of the DC political machine and run this city like Barry.

[Anonymous]

+1000. I include Charles Allen in the idiots group. He sits on his hands while 3/4 of the 4th graders at our IB school--Brent--bail for charters, privates and the burbs, year after year.