buying your way into desirable public schools?

[Anonymous]

I'm in Bethesda and my kids have attended Chevy Chase elementary, which has a very solid foundation, and BCC.

I can guarantee that neither foundation can influence residency issues. That's NOT the sort of pull that foundation administrators have!!! And knowing how the public system works in general, I greatly doubt that it's different in Fairfax or anywhere else.

However I do know a couple of families who do not live within the catchment area, AND whose kids do not have an officially-sanctioned reason to attend an out-of-boundary school. These families use a close relative's address, or one of their own addresses, because they own more than one home. Nothing is tacitly negotiated through any foundation. There are no bribes. Indeed, I'd argue that the family with several homes is paying sky-high property taxes in a desirable part of Montgomery County just like me. People who are aware of these types of situations will not alert the school administration, because residency fraud in the schools my kids attend is not a huge problem, and when your kids have been friends for years, well, it's not a great feeling to tell on the parents.

The person who wrote that bribes are given to foundation members is either a troll or doesn't understand how the system works. Spend some time in public school before throwing out accusations like this.