School Fraud- Cap Hill

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MYOB

Lol. NP but this is ridiculous. This is OP's business. If people from outside the city are committing residency fraud to take spots in her IB school, and her children are unable to attend as a result, that is 100% her business. Don't be obtuse.

OP, I have mixed feelings about this because I do think some percentage of the cars with Maryland tags doing drop off are not residency fraud -- it's kids from divorced homes where one parent lives in PG county, or a grandparent or other caretaker who lives in Maryland doing drop off to help parents with challenging commutes or work schedules. So I don't like assuming that just because I see one kid get out of a car with Maryland tags, that family is committing fraud.

But yes, the sheer volume is concerning to me. I don't think you can explain away dozens of cars with Maryland tags doing drop off with these explanations. Schools in DC are so challenging as is, and stuff like this erodes faith in the system and sows distrust among school communities.

If it is grandparent / babysitter / divorce - wouldn't you see similar patterns at other elementary schools? Why would it be centralized to Maury vs the neighboring elementary schools? What is unique there

Maybe parents in-boundary for Maury have enough income to hire a nanny who probably lives in PG.

But why would the nanny be driving the kid to school? The boundary isn't that big.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MYOB

Lol. NP but this is ridiculous. This is OP's business. If people from outside the city are committing residency fraud to take spots in her IB school, and her children are unable to attend as a result, that is 100% her business. Don't be obtuse.

OP, I have mixed feelings about this because I do think some percentage of the cars with Maryland tags doing drop off are not residency fraud -- it's kids from divorced homes where one parent lives in PG county, or a grandparent or other caretaker who lives in Maryland doing drop off to help parents with challenging commutes or work schedules. So I don't like assuming that just because I see one kid get out of a car with Maryland tags, that family is committing fraud.

But yes, the sheer volume is concerning to me. I don't think you can explain away dozens of cars with Maryland tags doing drop off with these explanations. Schools in DC are so challenging as is, and stuff like this erodes faith in the system and sows distrust among school communities.

You say it's her business and then immediately come up with reasons why the tags might not be residency fraud. Exactly. She's not the residency police, and has no right to get into people's family lives.

No, am acknowledging that on an individual basis it does not make sense to level allegations or assume that child's family is committing fraud. But the bigger point is that when you see A LOT of Maryland tags at drop off, that should raise red flags and trigger some kind of review. You can write off individual incidents as being particular to that family's circumstances and give people the benefit of the doubt. But if you consistently have dozens of kids showing up in cars with MD tags (especially for a school like Maury where it doesn't really make sense that so many students would be driven to school anyway -- it is a very walkable area), then it is understandable that IB families would start wondering what is going on. A few kids coming from a family member's house in PG, or arriving in nanny's cars -- OK. Dozens? It raises questions that should be investigated and it's not wrong to say that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MYOB

Lol. NP but this is ridiculous. This is OP's business. If people from outside the city are committing residency fraud to take spots in her IB school, and her children are unable to attend as a result, that is 100% her business. Don't be obtuse.

OP, I have mixed feelings about this because I do think some percentage of the cars with Maryland tags doing drop off are not residency fraud -- it's kids from divorced homes where one parent lives in PG county, or a grandparent or other caretaker who lives in Maryland doing drop off to help parents with challenging commutes or work schedules. So I don't like assuming that just because I see one kid get out of a car with Maryland tags, that family is committing fraud.

But yes, the sheer volume is concerning to me. I don't think you can explain away dozens of cars with Maryland tags doing drop off with these explanations. Schools in DC are so challenging as is, and stuff like this erodes faith in the system and sows distrust among school communities.

If it is grandparent / babysitter / divorce - wouldn't you see similar patterns at other elementary schools? Why would it be centralized to Maury vs the neighboring elementary schools? What is unique there

Maybe parents in-boundary for Maury have enough income to hire a nanny who probably lives in PG.

But why would the nanny be driving the kid to school? The boundary isn't that big.

This. In individual circumstances I can see reasons (bad weather, nanny is taking younger child to class or location outside boundary and drop-off is on the way, etc.). But daily? It does not make sense that so many children would be arriving in cars with MD tags on a day where it is not pouring rain.

Sometimes the most obvious conclusion is the right one.

[Anonymous]

People move, divorce, baby dad or moms live separate, grandma's, uncles, you don't know sh&! from a license plate at drop off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MYOB

Lol. NP but this is ridiculous. This is OP's business. If people from outside the city are committing residency fraud to take spots in her IB school, and her children are unable to attend as a result, that is 100% her business. Don't be obtuse.

OP, I have mixed feelings about this because I do think some percentage of the cars with Maryland tags doing drop off are not residency fraud -- it's kids from divorced homes where one parent lives in PG county, or a grandparent or other caretaker who lives in Maryland doing drop off to help parents with challenging commutes or work schedules. So I don't like assuming that just because I see one kid get out of a car with Maryland tags, that family is committing fraud.

But yes, the sheer volume is concerning to me. I don't think you can explain away dozens of cars with Maryland tags doing drop off with these explanations. Schools in DC are so challenging as is, and stuff like this erodes faith in the system and sows distrust among school communities.

If it is grandparent / babysitter / divorce - wouldn't you see similar patterns at other elementary schools? Why would it be centralized to Maury vs the neighboring elementary schools? What is unique there

Maybe parents in-boundary for Maury have enough income to hire a nanny who probably lives in PG.

But why would the nanny be driving the kid to school? The boundary isn't that big.

Because if you hire a nanny for 4k+/month, you're busy working! That's what the nanny is for. When should the nanny come - 930am after kids gone?

[Anonymous]

This comes up every year. There are all manner of excuses offered. It’s a nanny! It’s someone who doesn’t want to register their car in DC! The parents are divorced!

It’s fraud. But nothing is going to be done about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does OP know that all the MD cars are filled with PK kids? Maury, like most Hill elementary schools, has trouble filling its upper elementary slots. Perhaps the MD kids are taking those seats because there is no demand for them.

Yes and then those same kids siblings will qualify for sibling pref over DC citizens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MYOB

Lol. NP but this is ridiculous. This is OP's business. If people from outside the city are committing residency fraud to take spots in her IB school, and her children are unable to attend as a result, that is 100% her business. Don't be obtuse.

OP, I have mixed feelings about this because I do think some percentage of the cars with Maryland tags doing drop off are not residency fraud -- it's kids from divorced homes where one parent lives in PG county, or a grandparent or other caretaker who lives in Maryland doing drop off to help parents with challenging commutes or work schedules. So I don't like assuming that just because I see one kid get out of a car with Maryland tags, that family is committing fraud.

But yes, the sheer volume is concerning to me. I don't think you can explain away dozens of cars with Maryland tags doing drop off with these explanations. Schools in DC are so challenging as is, and stuff like this erodes faith in the system and sows distrust among school communities.

You say it's her business and then immediately come up with reasons why the tags might not be residency fraud. Exactly. She's not the residency police, and has no right to get into people's family lives.

Thank you, this is OP. It’s infuriating and I want to have this investigated. However I am somewhat afraid of negative repercussions on my family.

No, am acknowledging that on an individual basis it does not make sense to level allegations or assume that child's family is committing fraud. But the bigger point is that when you see A LOT of Maryland tags at drop off, that should raise red flags and trigger some kind of review. You can write off individual incidents as being particular to that family's circumstances and give people the benefit of the doubt. But if you consistently have dozens of kids showing up in cars with MD tags (especially for a school like Maury where it doesn't really make sense that so many students would be driven to school anyway -- it is a very walkable area), then it is understandable that IB families would start wondering what is going on. A few kids coming from a family member's house in PG, or arriving in nanny's cars -- OK. Dozens? It raises questions that should be investigated and it's not wrong to say that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MYOB

Lol. NP but this is ridiculous. This is OP's business. If people from outside the city are committing residency fraud to take spots in her IB school, and her children are unable to attend as a result, that is 100% her business. Don't be obtuse.

OP, I have mixed feelings about this because I do think some percentage of the cars with Maryland tags doing drop off are not residency fraud -- it's kids from divorced homes where one parent lives in PG county, or a grandparent or other caretaker who lives in Maryland doing drop off to help parents with challenging commutes or work schedules. So I don't like assuming that just because I see one kid get out of a car with Maryland tags, that family is committing fraud.

But yes, the sheer volume is concerning to me. I don't think you can explain away dozens of cars with Maryland tags doing drop off with these explanations. Schools in DC are so challenging as is, and stuff like this erodes faith in the system and sows distrust among school communities.

You say it's her business and then immediately come up with reasons why the tags might not be residency fraud. Exactly. She's not the residency police, and has no right to get into people's family lives.

No, am acknowledging that on an individual basis it does not make sense to level allegations or assume that child's family is committing fraud. But the bigger point is that when you see A LOT of Maryland tags at drop off, that should raise red flags and trigger some kind of review. You can write off individual incidents as being particular to that family's circumstances and give people the benefit of the doubt. But if you consistently have dozens of kids showing up in cars with MD tags (especially for a school like Maury where it doesn't really make sense that so many students would be driven to school anyway -- it is a very walkable area), then it is understandable that IB families would start wondering what is going on. A few kids coming from a family member's house in PG, or arriving in nanny's cars -- OK. Dozens? It raises questions that should be investigated and it's not wrong to say that.

While I agree that singling out family sucks, I’m tired of Marylanders speeding through my neighborhood and parking illegally in my neighborhood. If any are taking advantage of free PK, they wasting our tax dollars that should go to DC residents! You get a vote in Congress, let us have our schools!

There should be a full investigation into each and every family situation.

[Anonymous]

At our school I have noticed a large sense of entitlement by people that have roots in our neighborhood but no longer live there. They believe their kids have a right to go to the neighborhood school because they went there or their mother/sibling/aunt/cousin lives in the neighborhood. They could care less that they don't even live in DC anymore. They're not even that shy about it. The school knows who they are but as long as they submit some kind of paperwork that checks the residency box they don't care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At our school I have noticed a large sense of entitlement by people that have roots in our neighborhood but no longer live there. They believe their kids have a right to go to the neighborhood school because they went there or their mother/sibling/aunt/cousin lives in the neighborhood. They could care less that they don't even live in DC anymore. They're not even that shy about it. The school knows who they are but as long as they submit some kind of paperwork that checks the residency box they don't care.

This. You don't get to go to a public school because your parent went there if you no longer live in boundary. I think part of this is because people who used to live there can't afford to live there now so there's a socio-economic and race lens to all this too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MYOB

Lol. NP but this is ridiculous. This is OP's business. If people from outside the city are committing residency fraud to take spots in her IB school, and her children are unable to attend as a result, that is 100% her business. Don't be obtuse.

OP, I have mixed feelings about this because I do think some percentage of the cars with Maryland tags doing drop off are not residency fraud -- it's kids from divorced homes where one parent lives in PG county, or a grandparent or other caretaker who lives in Maryland doing drop off to help parents with challenging commutes or work schedules. So I don't like assuming that just because I see one kid get out of a car with Maryland tags, that family is committing fraud.

But yes, the sheer volume is concerning to me. I don't think you can explain away dozens of cars with Maryland tags doing drop off with these explanations. Schools in DC are so challenging as is, and stuff like this erodes faith in the system and sows distrust among school communities.

You say it's her business and then immediately come up with reasons why the tags might not be residency fraud. Exactly. She's not the residency police, and has no right to get into people's family lives.

No, am acknowledging that on an individual basis it does not make sense to level allegations or assume that child's family is committing fraud. But the bigger point is that when you see A LOT of Maryland tags at drop off, that should raise red flags and trigger some kind of review. You can write off individual incidents as being particular to that family's circumstances and give people the benefit of the doubt. But if you consistently have dozens of kids showing up in cars with MD tags (especially for a school like Maury where it doesn't really make sense that so many students would be driven to school anyway -- it is a very walkable area), then it is understandable that IB families would start wondering what is going on. A few kids coming from a family member's house in PG, or arriving in nanny's cars -- OK. Dozens? It raises questions that should be investigated and it's not wrong to say that.

While I agree that singling out family sucks, I’m tired of Marylanders speeding through my neighborhood and parking illegally in my neighborhood. If any are taking advantage of free PK, they wasting our tax dollars that should go to DC residents! You get a vote in Congress, let us have our schools!

There should be a full investigation into each and every family situation.

How much money per slot do you want to spend on that investigation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our school I have noticed a large sense of entitlement by people that have roots in our neighborhood but no longer live there. They believe their kids have a right to go to the neighborhood school because they went there or their mother/sibling/aunt/cousin lives in the neighborhood. They could care less that they don't even live in DC anymore. They're not even that shy about it. The school knows who they are but as long as they submit some kind of paperwork that checks the residency box they don't care.

This. You don't get to go to a public school because your parent went there if you no longer live in boundary. I think part of this is because people who used to live there can't afford to live there now so there's a socio-economic and race lens to all this too.

100%. Though one thing to keep in mind is that some of the long time DC residents who were pushed out by gentrifiers may actually still be home owners in DC. They inherited and rent out a family home and live in a much bigger home in Maryland. I work for the DC government and hear this not infrequently. So short of doing actual home inspections, it's hard for school staff to question an actual deed or mortgage document.

[Anonymous]

I have an idea: How about all of you go to one of the 50 other threads on the EXACT same topic, with the EXACT same posts and just read those?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This comes up every year. There are all manner of excuses offered. It’s a nanny! It’s someone who doesn’t want to register their car in DC! The parents are divorced!

It’s fraud. But nothing is going to be done about it.

Yep. I'm frustrated by it, too, OP. And always tire of the hypothetical excuses -- which also never quite hold up. It's Occam's Razor at some point, and I don't know why some insist on being obtuse about it. Like, it's not that surprising that there's inter-state residency fraud here.