Rent a 2nd place in a better boundary

[Anonymous]

We did it. We declined the home visit though would have declined it anyways. We only did it because we wanted to move into the boundary but couldn't find a house. It took us 2 years to find the house.

[Anonymous]

The DME's plan would require people who move out of boundary to leave at the end of the year (unless they get in through the OOB lottery). So you'd have to keep up this farce for the kid's whole school career. You'd have to force your kid to lie about her home. And what would you do about playdates, birthday parties, assignments where people write about their neighborhoods, etc.? You'd also probably want to change your voter registration. And you can forget about claiming the homestead property tax deduction, so that's about $600 per year plus a potential problem with your mortgage (which probably requires you to occupy the house as your primary residence).

Just sell your place and move to a smaller place in-bounds if you care so much. Or apply OOB and to charters. Or move to the suburbs. There are options other than committing fraud.

[Anonymous]

Those of you who say you know someone who does this--why don't you turn them in? It is very clear residency fraud.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly I doubt you would ever get caught.
But don't think you are so superior to those non-DC residents who do it. You are free riding off the higher cost of real estate (and better schools) in the WOTP neighborhoods.

LOL. I didn't add the disclaimer to feel superior, I added it to clarify my question (I imagine the regulations are very different for establishing DC residency vs. school boundaries). The people WOTP enjoying their nice schools are benefiting from my income taxes, so, I will still sleep at night.

How is this free riding? She's paying rent there, she lives there as much as anyone else does.

If she chooses to also pay rent and live in another part of the city, then, what difference does that make?

Because a person can only have one primary residence. The location of one's primary residence is based on an objective test that considers the number of nights slept at a location, where bills are sent, where taxes are paid, and other factors indicative of connection. Where you sleep is the most significant factor. If you claim that your primary residence is someplace other than where you sleep most nights, and there is no legitimate reason for sleeping away (such as work travel, vacation, etc.), you are probably committing a fraud.

[Anonymous]

There is no DCPS worth doing this for. Just pay for private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a Janney family that does this.

I also know a Brent family that does this.

It's not legal, but the likelihood they will get caught is small.

What grade and why don't you turn them in? There are real in-bounds families stuck on the early childhood waitlists.

Plain and simple, it's just not fair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no DCPS worth doing this for. Just pay for private.

So not true. Not paying 60k for kinder twins. Those are the crazy people who do that.

DME doesn't remove principal discretion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Better idea is to put your house up for rent and rent a second place in the better boundary. I have friends who do this

This is the legit way to do it. Follow the rules and there's nothing to worry about. Try out the school for a year and see if it's worth making the investment or sacrifice that other people do. You might be surprised that the better school isn't all that and a bag of chips. There's also the potential disruption of feeder and assignment patterns.

Back in the day the practice was "once you're in, you're in". It made economic sense to rent a closet IB and live elsewhere and it was easy to do. Those were also the days when being at a charter school meant school in the basement of a church or over a CVS. A lottery was something you paid for at 7-11.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Renting in a better in bounds area and keeping your current residence will cost you just as much as private. I would just pay for private school tuition. The average rent plus utilities would cost in excess of $3000 a month. 10x3000=30,000 which Sidwell's tuition roughly.

Or

I would just look into getting a in boundary friend to write a lease so you can have a license to prove residency.

Well, a couple thoughts on this...

1. $3,000 might be average rent, but you can find crappy places for <$1500. We'd go for one of those.
2. Private school tuition for ONE kid... not more than one, though.

Really? Where are the apartments inbounds for Janney, Murch, Lafayette key or Mann that are less than $1500 and that will allow two individuals to live there? Or did you mean to advise " lie and claim you're living in someone's basement with no separate kitchen" -- the only living quarters I've seen in ward 3 for under $1500 since 2002.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Renting in a better in bounds area and keeping your current residence will cost you just as much as private. I would just pay for private school tuition. The average rent plus utilities would cost in excess of $3000 a month. 10x3000=30,000 which Sidwell's tuition roughly.

Or

I would just look into getting a in boundary friend to write a lease so you can have a license to prove residency.

Well, a couple thoughts on this...

1. $3,000 might be average rent, but you can find crappy places for <$1500. We'd go for one of those.
2. Private school tuition for ONE kid... not more than one, though.

Really? Where are the apartments inbounds for Janney, Murch, Lafayette key or Mann that are less than $1500 and that will allow two individuals to live there? Or did you mean to advise " lie and claim you're living in someone's basement with no separate kitchen" -- the only living quarters I've seen in ward 3 for under $1500 since 2002.

+! Ridiculous post about a place with $1500 rent in JKLMM that will house OP and TWINS or at least 2 kids. Is there a DH there too? who are all moving into a basement apt meant for a Georgetown undergrad.

[Anonymous]

If you're going to cheat, why not just "rent a room" for a lot cheaper? Then again, why even do that? Why not just change your address on pay stub for one month out of year to a WOTP random address? Most people don't get their pay checks mailed to them. The burden of proof for residency is so low in the city.

I do wonder what the penalty would be for actual DC residents that cheat boundary? They can't charge them to pay tuition. I'm thinking they'd just force back to IB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Renting in a better in bounds area and keeping your current residence will cost you just as much as private. I would just pay for private school tuition. The average rent plus utilities would cost in excess of $3000 a month. 10x3000=30,000 which Sidwell's tuition roughly.

Or

I would just look into getting a in boundary friend to write a lease so you can have a license to prove residency.

Well, a couple thoughts on this...

1. $3,000 might be average rent, but you can find crappy places for <$1500. We'd go for one of those.
2. Private school tuition for ONE kid... not more than one, though.

Really? Where are the apartments inbounds for Janney, Murch, Lafayette key or Mann that are less than $1500 and that will allow two individuals to live there? Or did you mean to advise " lie and claim you're living in someone's basement with no separate kitchen" -- the only living quarters I've seen in ward 3 for under $1500 since 2002.

My my my, so angry!! Not the OP, but, this was pretty easy to find:

Stoddert, $1375 http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/apa/4560429574.html
Mann, $1400 http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/apa/4555085272.html
Heart, $1500 http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/apa/4561540603.html

And all three of those are in apartment buildings, i.e. legal units.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Renting in a better in bounds area and keeping your current residence will cost you just as much as private. I would just pay for private school tuition. The average rent plus utilities would cost in excess of $3000 a month. 10x3000=30,000 which Sidwell's tuition roughly.

Or

I would just look into getting a in boundary friend to write a lease so you can have a license to prove residency.

Well, a couple thoughts on this...

1. $3,000 might be average rent, but you can find crappy places for <$1500. We'd go for one of those.
2. Private school tuition for ONE kid... not more than one, though.

Really? Where are the apartments inbounds for Janney, Murch, Lafayette key or Mann that are less than $1500 and that will allow two individuals to live there? Or did you mean to advise " lie and claim you're living in someone's basement with no separate kitchen" -- the only living quarters I've seen in ward 3 for under $1500 since 2002.

We got a 2bdr for 2500/mo.

[Anonymous]

This is really simple. If you do not live IB (look up the definition), then you are OB. You can either move IB or you can find out if there are legal ways to attend as OB. If you live OB but claim to live IB (in whatever creative way you dream up), you would be breaking the law and would have to lie every day you send your child to school. You would have to require that your child lie and would be teaching your child that lying is OK.

You could pretend that you have the moral high ground, but you wouldn't. You would just be a liar and a cheat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is really simple. If you do not live IB (look up the definition), then you are OB. You can either move IB or you can find out if there are legal ways to attend as OB. If you live OB but claim to live IB (in whatever creative way you dream up), you would be breaking the law and would have to lie every day you send your child to school. You would have to require that your child lie and would be teaching your child that lying is OK.

You could pretend that you have the moral high ground, but you wouldn't. You would just be a liar and a cheat.

You sound unhinged. My kids go to plenty of friend's houses that are clearly OOB for our JKLMM school. I never think about how they got into the school. I can assure you the kids don't seem burdened by the fact they may be lying.