School residency cheaters investigated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is the ancestral home - grandma or mom/dad keep their home in the city and all their grandkids use the address. Often the grandparents also watch the kids before and after school.

It is that simple and also that complicated to unravel. It is unfathomable to many newer residents who don't have extended family here.

The rules about proof is what is unfathomable. If a student is not FARMS, then the parent is employed with a certain income, if the parent has an income, they have to pay taxes according to where they live. Showing utility bills and other forms of proof is insufficient.

For real. Why not require tax returns? And if you can't provide tax returns for some legitimate reason (like you didn't work that year) require a laundry list of other items AND a home visit.

Tax/pay stubs are a good idea.

Requiring home visits is not a good idea. Our school encourages them, but I question the burden/safety issues it presents for the overworked teachers. They also allow "home visits" at local parks or cafes. Also, as a formerly struggling parent and living with spouse and kids in a D.C. studio apartment, I was ashamed to have guests come over. The struggle is real and you want to encourage a partnership with parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's time to take this away from OSSE to investigate and hand it off to the feds and the US attorney to investigate and prosecute residency fraud. Some very public indictments for fraud and theft and services and civil suits for past due tuition should have at least some deterrent effect.

Um,. residency fraud is not within the parameters of the feds.

DCPS gets a ton of federal aid. Theft of services is basically misappropriating federal grant money intended for DC students, so yeah, it could be a subject of federal investigation. And, of course, the US Attorney is the local prosecutor with jurisdiction to enforce DC laws as well as federal ones. The point is, investigations need to be handed over to an aggressive investigator and enforcer, not the lackadaisical DC agency in charge of it now.

So does every public school system in the USA. Do you want the DOE to now begin investigating residency fraud throughout the country and forwarding to DOJ for prosecution. Really!!!!!!!!!!

This is the nation's capital, the feds are the local prosecutor for DC laws as well as federal, and in any event the federal government will step in where there is a local fraud and corruption problem and the local authorities seem unwilling or unable to do anything about it.

Again, should the DOE investigate residency fraud in other states. The other states are receiving the same federal dollars given to the nation's capital. Again, the feds do not prosecute all of DC laws. The police officer who committed residency fraud was prosecuted not by the feds, but the DC OAG.

[Anonymous]

There seems to be this attitude that residency fraud is some kind of "victimless" offense and even that scamming and skimming are acceptable forms of behavior in the District of Columbia and environs, even among those who work for the DC or federal governments. This culture needs to change!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is the ancestral home - grandma or mom/dad keep their home in the city and all their grandkids use the address. Often the grandparents also watch the kids before and after school.

It is that simple and also that complicated to unravel. It is unfathomable to many newer residents who don't have extended family here.

It's neither simple nor complicated. An "ancestral" or grandparent's home in the District doesn't establish a child's residence unless the grandparent is registered as the child's legal guardian with the school.

Of course it doesn't, but it's a cultural norm and, like jay walking, the people doing it don't see what the issue is. They are from the district and still have a family tie to the city, and hence believe they are entitled to city schools if they are either better quality or more convenient than the ones where they live.

Enforcement and changing of hearts and minds is needed to change this.

New flash: Contrary to popular belief, PG County is NOT DC's "Ward 9"!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd fear for my safety if I were the person confronting/stalking these people.

They should award Therese courageous reporters a medal and security detail

Ha! Good one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is the ancestral home - grandma or mom/dad keep their home in the city and all their grandkids use the address. Often the grandparents also watch the kids before and after school.

It is that simple and also that complicated to unravel. It is unfathomable to many newer residents who don't have extended family here.

The rules about proof is what is unfathomable. If a student is not FARMS, then the parent is employed with a certain income, if the parent has an income, they have to pay taxes according to where they live. Showing utility bills and other forms of proof is insufficient.

For real. Why not require tax returns? And if you can't provide tax returns for some legitimate reason (like you didn't work that year) require a laundry list of other items AND a home visit.

Because loads of people don't file taxes.

One of the forms of proof is a paystub which shows D.C. taxes being taken out. I think the majority of the uproar is about people who buy big mansions in MD, expensive cars, have an income, and yet take advantage of the D.C. public school system. Those who are FARMS, assuming your family includes 6 children or less with an income of 33k or less (http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/income-eligibility-guidelines). Anyone making 34k or more should submit a paystub or proof of owning their own business. If they do not have proof of income because they are not paying taxes, working side jobs, etc., then they should apply for FARMS. If there is FARMS/Tax fraud, then that is on them if they are willing to go to such extremes. The paystub will get a big swath of out of city people who use D.C. because it is convenient on their way to work.

I don't know about all federal government agencies, but DoD refuses to put your home address on your pay stubs.

[Anonymous]

Not sure if someone posted this yet - https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-schools-insider/post/dc-tries-to-draw-line-on-school-residency-fraud/2011/10/07/gIQALxDRTL_blog.html

2011 Washington Post article that did a similar investigation by counting cars outside a local school, and came up with a similar result of finding lots of Maryland residents abusing the DC school system. It also talks about the reasons enforcement is lax. Local school administrators don't want to remove cheaters because it cuts their funding.

Proof of residency requirements from DCPS - http://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/Residency%20Verification%20Requirements%202015.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is the ancestral home - grandma or mom/dad keep their home in the city and all their grandkids use the address. Often the grandparents also watch the kids before and after school.

It is that simple and also that complicated to unravel. It is unfathomable to many newer residents who don't have extended family here.

The rules about proof is what is unfathomable. If a student is not FARMS, then the parent is employed with a certain income, if the parent has an income, they have to pay taxes according to where they live. Showing utility bills and other forms of proof is insufficient.

For real. Why not require tax returns? And if you can't provide tax returns for some legitimate reason (like you didn't work that year) require a laundry list of other items AND a home visit.

Tax/pay stubs are a good idea.

Requiring home visits is not a good idea. Our school encourages them, but I question the burden/safety issues it presents for the overworked teachers. They also allow "home visits" at local parks or cafes. Also, as a formerly struggling parent and living with spouse and kids in a D.C. studio apartment, I was ashamed to have guests come over. The struggle is real and you want to encourage a partnership with parents.

Completely agree. We had a home visit at the school during a period when we were very privately living in our basement apt while renting the upstairs to make ends meet. We were also ashamed to have guests over, certainly not because we were residency cheaters.

Tax returns/pay stubs are a good idea if and only if parents are permitted to white out financial information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It looks like Friday's article is about PTA board members who live in MD...rumor has it that the PTA president at at least one of the schools mentioned does.

Well if you google the parent in today's article, she's on the board at Excel. Sounds like the "series" is going to tell 2-3 vignettes in a 10 part series.

And she is adamant that she does not live in MD, but does not have a home in DC? Does she live in VA? This doesn't help her any. Is she homeless? Do homeless children get to pick any school in the area?

Why does Excel allow this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is the ancestral home - grandma or mom/dad keep their home in the city and all their grandkids use the address. Often the grandparents also watch the kids before and after school.

It is that simple and also that complicated to unravel. It is unfathomable to many newer residents who don't have extended family here.

The rules about proof is what is unfathomable. If a student is not FARMS, then the parent is employed with a certain income, if the parent has an income, they have to pay taxes according to where they live. Showing utility bills and other forms of proof is insufficient.

For real. Why not require tax returns? And if you can't provide tax returns for some legitimate reason (like you didn't work that year) require a laundry list of other items AND a home visit.

Because loads of people don't file taxes.

One of the forms of proof is a paystub which shows D.C. taxes being taken out. I think the majority of the uproar is about people who buy big mansions in MD, expensive cars, have an income, and yet take advantage of the D.C. public school system. Those who are FARMS, assuming your family includes 6 children or less with an income of 33k or less (http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/income-eligibility-guidelines). Anyone making 34k or more should submit a paystub or proof of owning their own business. If they do not have proof of income because they are not paying taxes, working side jobs, etc., then they should apply for FARMS. If there is FARMS/Tax fraud, then that is on them if they are willing to go to such extremes. The paystub will get a big swath of out of city people who use D.C. because it is convenient on their way to work.

I don't know about all federal government agencies, but DoD refuses to put your home address on your pay stubs.

I think they still indicate what state your taxes are paid to - so the line under Fed taxes would indicate MD, VA, or DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

One of the forms of proof is a paystub which shows D.C. taxes being taken out. I think the majority of the uproar is about people who buy big mansions in MD, expensive cars, have an income, and yet take advantage of the D.C. public school system. Those who are FARMS, assuming your family includes 6 children or less with an income of 33k or less (http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/income-eligibility-guidelines). Anyone making 34k or more should submit a paystub or proof of owning their own business. If they do not have proof of income because they are not paying taxes, working side jobs, etc., then they should apply for FARMS. If there is FARMS/Tax fraud, then that is on them if they are willing to go to such extremes. The paystub will get a big swath of out of city people who use D.C. because it is convenient on their way to work.

I don't know about all federal government agencies, but DoD refuses to put your home address on your pay stubs.


Not the address, just the part that shows income tax is being paid to D.C. If you reside in D.C., you have to pay income tax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Requiring home visits is not a good idea. Our school encourages them, but I question the burden/safety issues it presents for the overworked teachers. They also allow "home visits" at local parks or cafes. Also, as a formerly struggling parent and living with spouse and kids in a D.C. studio apartment, I was ashamed to have guests come over. The struggle is real and you want to encourage a partnership with parents.

From a teacher's perspective, home visits are useful because it helps to build a sense of community. It can be super helpful to have additional information about the student's home life, because that can help you best meet their needs. And, by actually making the effort to come to the home it can make parents (some of whom might not have been all that involved, or comfortable being involved) more comfortable with the teacher. Doing it as a residency check would totally torpedo that. And, FWIW, the fact that some people aren't comfortable having the teacher in their home because of the reasons listed above is the reason that it can be done in places other than the home.

But--I know registrars can also make home visits to check residency. This is totally separate from the teacher's home visit, and the teacher does not attend, which is as it should be. And honestly, I think they should do more of them. It's not going to be the first step in the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It looks like Friday's article is about PTA board members who live in MD...rumor has it that the PTA president at at least one of the schools mentioned does.

Well if you google the parent in today's article, she's on the board at Excel. Sounds like the "series" is going to tell 2-3 vignettes in a 10 part series.

And she is adamant that she does not live in MD, but does not have a home in DC? Does she live in VA? This doesn't help her any. Is she homeless? Do homeless children get to pick any school in the area?

Why does Excel allow this?

Just in case you were really asking, homeless children and foster kids have special provisions to allow for them to remain in their school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Not hard to show where you live. Come to my house. I'll show you my messy house, all my clothes, paperwork, ask the neighbors if I live here and so on.
Never seen people put up such a fuss and fight if they are not cheating.

This is how I feel. It's not hard to prove your residency. So report if you know of someone, and they can put to rest any confusion or questions. It shouldn't be a big deal to prove.

Actually, it is hard to prove residency. When I met my husband, he owned the house we lived in and had all the utilities in his name. Though we filed joint taxes as a married couple and my drivers license and registration carried my name and address, it was insufficient for registering my child. Very insufficient. We're three years in to public schooling in DC and each year, the schools we've attended have been hard core about seeing the person whose claiming guardianship and residency IN PERSON when they register a child.

If it's fair to resort to stereotypes - and it seems the "articles" and thousands of DCUM posts on the subject make stereotypes very fair - then I have to believe that the people with means to skirt this system are more likely well-off white people taking advantage of highly-regarded charter schools and DCPS west of the park. Yet these "reporters" couldn't be bothered with JKLM or Creative Minds, where there are certainly affluent white people "scamming our schools." Not to mention principals and parent teacher organizations looking the other way. These people are just not being followed home or having their government documentation researched and posted online.

Show of hands/posts, how many here are irked by their wait list number for Eagle Academy or Ludlow-Taylor?

I mean, if you don't see this sham excuse for journalism as a bigger problem in the interest of our kids, then I'm just frankly worried for our kids. I have resided and paid taxes in the District of Columbia for close to 30 years. But thinking about some nutcase vigilante targeting my kid for "investigation" because he's a brown kid getting out of the car of my MD-residing SIL who sometimes helps with childcare makes my blood boil.

And you go, Oh! If you're following the law you have nothing to worry about. Just answer the questions imposed on you and you're good to go! But the blatant racial bias expressed here and in the articles means I have a hell of a lot to worry about. Some fucking kook stalking kids outside of their school, taking photographs and posting them online? How is it that THAT fact doesn't disturb people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

One of the forms of proof is a paystub which shows D.C. taxes being taken out. I think the majority of the uproar is about people who buy big mansions in MD, expensive cars, have an income, and yet take advantage of the D.C. public school system. Those who are FARMS, assuming your family includes 6 children or less with an income of 33k or less (http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/income-eligibility-guidelines). Anyone making 34k or more should submit a paystub or proof of owning their own business. If they do not have proof of income because they are not paying taxes, working side jobs, etc., then they should apply for FARMS. If there is FARMS/Tax fraud, then that is on them if they are willing to go to such extremes. The paystub will get a big swath of out of city people who use D.C. because it is convenient on their way to work.

I don't know about all federal government agencies, but DoD refuses to put your home address on your pay stubs.

Not the address, just the part that shows income tax is being paid to D.C. If you reside in D.C., you have to pay income tax.

For any employer than has a self-service HR system it is beyond easy to go into it, change your address for a couple pay periods to one in the District. For those two pay periods you will have paid taxes to DC withheld, but then as soon as you've registered your child, you can switch it back.

Pay stubs can be just as easy to fake if you are motivated as anything else.