Ohio woman jailed for sending her kids to school in different school district

[Anonymous]

http://antikryptos.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/black-mother-jailed-for-sending-kids-to-white-school-district-2/

An Ohio woman was jailed for lying about where her kids lived so they could go to school in a better school district. She said they lived with their father who lived in that district.

Wow, if they sent people to jail here for doing this, there would be a lot of parents doing time.

[Anonymous]

That seems completely unfair to me.

Yes, the children didn't reside with the father. But he lived in the district and paid taxes there -- they COULD Have resided with him; he should have a right to send his kids to the school district he lives in, even if he has to get the kids there himself and not rely on bus transportation.

Really, really unfair.

[Anonymous]

We know a couple ppl that have done this and they are totally cracking down in our County.

It is a crime. If you willingly let somebody use your address you also will face charges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We know a couple ppl that have done this and they are totally cracking down in our County.

It is a crime. If you willingly let somebody use your address you also will face charges.

Can you explain the rationale of refusing to let kids enroll in a school district if their own non-custodial parent owns property or rents in that school district?

[Anonymous]

Oh please. Jail? Why not community service or something that will benefit society. Treating her like a hardened criminal is .....criminal in view. What are the Ohio taxpayers paying to throw her in jail? It's ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

The district I grew up in had this problem. It came to a head when there was a car accident and the contact information on file was not correct so the school could not get in touch with the parents in a timely manner.

Following this incident, they sent out a note that they were going to do a 100% audit and anyone found using a fradulent address will receive an invoice for out of district tuition. They gave people 2 weeks to make arrangements if they "made a mistake" and needed to move to a different district. During that 2 week window there was a 5% - 10% reduction in school size.

This is not enough to eliminate a class - but it is enough to make a difference in class size to benefit both the students and the teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We know a couple ppl that have done this and they are totally cracking down in our County.

It is a crime. If you willingly let somebody use your address you also will face charges.

Can you explain the rationale of refusing to let kids enroll in a school district if their own non-custodial parent owns property or rents in that school district?

The ppl doing it that I know of aren't using family members...they are using friends' addresses. I heard of somebody that had an ad on craigslist offering $ for use of faulty address.

Many school districts have full-time paid employees that do home investigations to see if kid really lives there. They will follow them home, etc. Not a joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh please. Jail? Why not community service or something that will benefit society. Treating her like a hardened criminal is .....criminal in view. What are the Ohio taxpayers paying to throw her in jail? It's ridiculous.

It's not just "jail", she's been convicted of a felony! This is the most ridiculous felony conviction that I've seen in a LONG time. I cannot believe that in America we still cannot choose what public school our kids attend. If too many students have requested to attend one school, the district needs to see what is working to ensure all schools and students have the same opportunities.

The fact that this is a felony sickens me.

[Anonymous]

It just makes me sad that kids have to go to such crappy schools that this woman was forced to try to beat the system. I don't think they would have treated a white woman so badly. I realize people pay taxes for their public schools...I paid taxes and my kid went to private. Someone who sends their kid to a private school in Ohio should give this woman "their slot". I realize that is not possible either.

[Anonymous]

When we were enrolling our dd in Kindergarten, I had to copy the deed to our house and give it to the schoo to prove that we actually live in our house. I was shocked, but I guess it happens where people use false addresses to gain access into a specific school. I thought I might need an electric bill to prove our address...silly me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When we were enrolling our dd in Kindergarten, I had to copy the deed to our house and give it to the schoo to prove that we actually live in our house. I was shocked, but I guess it happens where people use false addresses to gain access into a specific school. I thought I might need an electric bill to prove our address...silly me.

Yes. This is the norm. Ppl try to game the system by using other ppl's addresses. Google it. There are several high profile cases around the country where ppl faced serious charges for doing this.

I feel for the Ohio woman since it was the kids' father. However, most of these other cases ppl were using friend's addresses or fake ones (creating fake rental docs, etc.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we were enrolling our dd in Kindergarten, I had to copy the deed to our house and give it to the schoo to prove that we actually live in our house. I was shocked, but I guess it happens where people use false addresses to gain access into a specific school. I thought I might need an electric bill to prove our address...silly me.

Yes. This is the norm. Ppl try to game the system by using other ppl's addresses. Google it. There are several high profile cases around the country where ppl faced serious charges for doing this.

I feel for the Ohio woman since it was the kids' father. However, most of these other cases ppl were using friend's addresses or fake ones (creating fake rental docs, etc.).

What really sucks is she was really trying to do the best for her children...she had several relatives living in the other school district. They lock up parents like her, e.g., the caring ones, vs the ones that don't even know if their children go to school everyday because they are cracked up out of their minds. It's sad. There was such a disparity btwn the school level they were zoned for and the ones the kids' father lived in. I don't blame her.

[Anonymous]

It wasn't the kids' father. It was HER father, the kids' grandfather. If she wanted the kids going to that school then she should have lived with her father, or given him legal custody of the kids. She was stealing. She was teaching her kids that if they don't like the rules/laws then they don't have to follow them. Yes, I think the punishment was harsh; but she was given a chance to pay the back tuition and she refused.

[Anonymous]

But a felony? Now she'll have to mark that little box on job applications every time. And she's also lost her right to vote. That seems ludicrous to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It wasn't the kids' father. It was HER father, the kids' grandfather. If she wanted the kids going to that school then she should have lived with her father, or given him legal custody of the kids. She was stealing. She was teaching her kids that if they don't like the rules/laws then they don't have to follow them. Yes, I think the punishment was harsh; but she was given a chance to pay the back tuition and she refused.

Stealing? It's public school. Give me a freaking break! Her father pays taxes, her relatives pay taxes. This is story is crazy. Yes, god forbid she send her kids to a good public school. Only the upper class should have that right.