address not within school bounds

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Holy shit. Get a life.

+1

I can't imagine even noticing this, let alone clutching my pearls about it and imaging why scenarios.

+2. Even looking at the addresses, I'm not sure I'd know who is in bounds and who isn't. I don't keep a huge map of the school district layout over my computer or anything.

We have 4 neighborhoods that go to our school. It is very easy to tell who lives within in them and who doesn't. But like an OP said, people that cheat the system lie about their address and will post grandma or their uncles address. So there are usually more than is noted in the directory.

[Anonymous]

People may lie, but it's not as simple as writing down a different address. You really do have to jump through a lot of hoops. To prove your residency, you need either a property tax bill in your name, or to fill out a shared housing form saying you live with someone else or rent space at the address, along with three separate documents to match your name to the address--driver's license, phone bill, utility bill, etc. Or you have to prove that the person at that address (grandma, uncle) has primary custody of the child, with custody agreement paperwork. I have no idea how you'd make that one up.

So yes, it is possible to lie, but you'd have to change at least three bills at the address to your name, which could lead to more problems. It's not something most people would do lightly.

I think people just don't realize how common COSAs are, and automatically assume everyone's a boundary cheater or liar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People may lie, but it's not as simple as writing down a different address. You really do have to jump through a lot of hoops. To prove your residency, you need either a property tax bill in your name, or to fill out a shared housing form saying you live with someone else or rent space at the address, along with three separate documents to match your name to the address--driver's license, phone bill, utility bill, etc. Or you have to prove that the person at that address (grandma, uncle) has primary custody of the child, with custody agreement paperwork. I have no idea how you'd make that one up.

So yes, it is possible to lie, but you'd have to change at least three bills at the address to your name, which could lead to more problems. It's not something most people would do lightly.

I think people just don't realize how common COSAs are, and automatically assume everyone's a boundary cheater or liar.

This absolutely. Why let it go when your Republican / Fascist instincts tell you that someone must be cheating the system and taking out of the pot your hard-earned tax dollar has paid for?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all of your replies. I didn't know about COSAs. I just wanted a better understanding of what is going on at the local school. I wasn't accusing anyone of anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People may lie, but it's not as simple as writing down a different address. You really do have to jump through a lot of hoops. To prove your residency, you need either a property tax bill in your name, or to fill out a shared housing form saying you live with someone else or rent space at the address, along with three separate documents to match your name to the address--driver's license, phone bill, utility bill, etc. Or you have to prove that the person at that address (grandma, uncle) has primary custody of the child, with custody agreement paperwork. I have no idea how you'd make that one up.

So yes, it is possible to lie, but you'd have to change at least three bills at the address to your name, which could lead to more problems. It's not something most people would do lightly.

I think people just don't realize how common COSAs are, and automatically assume everyone's a boundary cheater or liar.

NP here. IME, this isn't exactly true. It's pretty easy to use another person's address.

My DD has three friends in her 3rd grade class who live OOB. None of them live or rent space at the address, etc. We know all the families pretty well, and none of them hide the fact that they live OOB. And, I know for a fact that NONE of them have a true COSA.

One of them uses a grandparent address. The grandparent absolutely does NOT have custody.

Another one uses a cousin's address.

The third uses a friend's address.

Meanwhile, my friend who is a teacher in MCPS, applied for a true COSA to get her kid to attend the school where she teaches, and was denied. WTF?

Sure, in the grand scheme of things, it's not a huge deal. On one hand, you figure these families must value education to lie in order to get their kids into a different (perceived as 'better') school. But, our school is definitely overcrowded, with several portables, and big class sizes.

Why bother with boundaries then? Just let any student in MCPS pick which school he/she wants to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People may lie, but it's not as simple as writing down a different address. You really do have to jump through a lot of hoops. To prove your residency, you need either a property tax bill in your name, or to fill out a shared housing form saying you live with someone else or rent space at the address, along with three separate documents to match your name to the address--driver's license, phone bill, utility bill, etc. Or you have to prove that the person at that address (grandma, uncle) has primary custody of the child, with custody agreement paperwork. I have no idea how you'd make that one up.

So yes, it is possible to lie, but you'd have to change at least three bills at the address to your name, which could lead to more problems. It's not something most people would do lightly.

I think people just don't realize how common COSAs are, and automatically assume everyone's a boundary cheater or liar.

NP here. IME, this isn't exactly true. It's pretty easy to use another person's address.

My DD has three friends in her 3rd grade class who live OOB. None of them live or rent space at the address, etc. We know all the families pretty well, and none of them hide the fact that they live OOB. And, I know for a fact that NONE of them have a true COSA.

One of them uses a grandparent address. The grandparent absolutely does NOT have custody.

Another one uses a cousin's address.

The third uses a friend's address.

Meanwhile, my friend who is a teacher in MCPS, applied for a true COSA to get her kid to attend the school where she teaches, and was denied. WTF?

Sure, in the grand scheme of things, it's not a huge deal. On one hand, you figure these families must value education to lie in order to get their kids into a different (perceived as 'better') school. But, our school is definitely overcrowded, with several portables, and big class sizes.

Why bother with boundaries then? Just let any student in MCPS pick which school he/she wants to attend.

What is a "true" COSA?

Here are the requirements for proof of residency: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/enroll/proofs.aspx

If you know the families so well, perhaps you can explain how they evaded these requirements?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People may lie, but it's not as simple as writing down a different address. You really do have to jump through a lot of hoops. To prove your residency, you need either a property tax bill in your name, or to fill out a shared housing form saying you live with someone else or rent space at the address, along with three separate documents to match your name to the address--driver's license, phone bill, utility bill, etc. Or you have to prove that the person at that address (grandma, uncle) has primary custody of the child, with custody agreement paperwork. I have no idea how you'd make that one up.

So yes, it is possible to lie, but you'd have to change at least three bills at the address to your name, which could lead to more problems. It's not something most people would do lightly.

I think people just don't realize how common COSAs are, and automatically assume everyone's a boundary cheater or liar.

NP here. IME, this isn't exactly true. It's pretty easy to use another person's address.

My DD has three friends in her 3rd grade class who live OOB. None of them live or rent space at the address, etc. We know all the families pretty well, and none of them hide the fact that they live OOB. And, I know for a fact that NONE of them have a true COSA.

One of them uses a grandparent address. The grandparent absolutely does NOT have custody.

Another one uses a cousin's address.

The third uses a friend's address.

Meanwhile, my friend who is a teacher in MCPS, applied for a true COSA to get her kid to attend the school where she teaches, and was denied. WTF?

Sure, in the grand scheme of things, it's not a huge deal. On one hand, you figure these families must value education to lie in order to get their kids into a different (perceived as 'better') school. But, our school is definitely overcrowded, with several portables, and big class sizes.

Why bother with boundaries then? Just let any student in MCPS pick which school he/she wants to attend.

I'm an attendance secretary and handle enrollments. It is NOT "pretty easy" to use a different address. The people you listed either have a COSA or presented (or falsified) the required documents verifying that the child lives at the address. There is no true or fake COSA. They are applied for and approved or denied based on the merits of the case and documentation provided by the applicant. If the COSA is approved, it is a "true" COSA, period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People may lie, but it's not as simple as writing down a different address. You really do have to jump through a lot of hoops. To prove your residency, you need either a property tax bill in your name, or to fill out a shared housing form saying you live with someone else or rent space at the address, along with three separate documents to match your name to the address--driver's license, phone bill, utility bill, etc. Or you have to prove that the person at that address (grandma, uncle) has primary custody of the child, with custody agreement paperwork. I have no idea how you'd make that one up.

So yes, it is possible to lie, but you'd have to change at least three bills at the address to your name, which could lead to more problems. It's not something most people would do lightly.

I think people just don't realize how common COSAs are, and automatically assume everyone's a boundary cheater or liar.

NP here. IME, this isn't exactly true. It's pretty easy to use another person's address.

My DD has three friends in her 3rd grade class who live OOB. None of them live or rent space at the address, etc. We know all the families pretty well, and none of them hide the fact that they live OOB. And, I know for a fact that NONE of them have a true COSA.

One of them uses a grandparent address. The grandparent absolutely does NOT have custody.

Another one uses a cousin's address.

The third uses a friend's address.

Meanwhile, my friend who is a teacher in MCPS, applied for a true COSA to get her kid to attend the school where she teaches, and was denied. WTF?

Sure, in the grand scheme of things, it's not a huge deal. On one hand, you figure these families must value education to lie in order to get their kids into a different (perceived as 'better') school. But, our school is definitely overcrowded, with several portables, and big class sizes.

Why bother with boundaries then? Just let any student in MCPS pick which school he/she wants to attend.

What is a "true" COSA?

Here are the requirements for proof of residency: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/enroll/proofs.aspx

If you know the families so well, perhaps you can explain how they evaded these requirements?

I know the family who uses a friend's address has their mail sent there. Her report card gets mailed to that person's house.

I'm not sure what your point is? You're right, they don't have a COSA (true or not) - they are just attending an OOB school by pretending to live elsewhere. I just meant that they did not actually get a COSA. If they did, their mail/report cards would be getting mailed to their actual home address. Instead, the report cards get send to the address where they are not living/have never lived.

I'm not lying, if that's what you're implying. My DD has been to two of these girls' houses, and the parents are pretty up front that they do NOT live in bounds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People may lie, but it's not as simple as writing down a different address. You really do have to jump through a lot of hoops. To prove your residency, you need either a property tax bill in your name, or to fill out a shared housing form saying you live with someone else or rent space at the address, along with three separate documents to match your name to the address--driver's license, phone bill, utility bill, etc. Or you have to prove that the person at that address (grandma, uncle) has primary custody of the child, with custody agreement paperwork. I have no idea how you'd make that one up.

So yes, it is possible to lie, but you'd have to change at least three bills at the address to your name, which could lead to more problems. It's not something most people would do lightly.

I think people just don't realize how common COSAs are, and automatically assume everyone's a boundary cheater or liar.

NP here. IME, this isn't exactly true. It's pretty easy to use another person's address.

My DD has three friends in her 3rd grade class who live OOB. None of them live or rent space at the address, etc. We know all the families pretty well, and none of them hide the fact that they live OOB. And, I know for a fact that NONE of them have a true COSA.

One of them uses a grandparent address. The grandparent absolutely does NOT have custody.

Another one uses a cousin's address.

The third uses a friend's address.

Meanwhile, my friend who is a teacher in MCPS, applied for a true COSA to get her kid to attend the school where she teaches, and was denied. WTF?

Sure, in the grand scheme of things, it's not a huge deal. On one hand, you figure these families must value education to lie in order to get their kids into a different (perceived as 'better') school. But, our school is definitely overcrowded, with several portables, and big class sizes.

Why bother with boundaries then? Just let any student in MCPS pick which school he/she wants to attend.

I'm an attendance secretary and handle enrollments. It is NOT "pretty easy" to use a different address. The people you listed either have a COSA or presented (or falsified) the required documents verifying that the child lives at the address. There is no true or fake COSA. They are applied for and approved or denied based on the merits of the case and documentation provided by the applicant. If the COSA is approved, it is a "true" COSA, period.

I'm the PP. Well, it seems pretty easy to me. Otherwise, how is it possible that so many people do it. Three people, in my DD's class of 24 kids. That's a decent number of kids living OOB, without a COSA. I know of another family who does have an actual COSA - their true address is in the directory, and they have a sibling at the school for a different reason. So, what the other PP said, rings true to me. The families who live OOB do not have their actual address in the directory.

[Anonymous]

my work place has a childcare center. all the kids enrolled in that center can apply cosa and all the application have been approved by mcps. i believe four elementary schools in bethesda and rockville receive those kids. the kids can easilly apply to continue on feeding middle school. the DC has about 20-30 kids for each age group but i dont know how many kids actually apply for cosa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I know the family who uses a friend's address has their mail sent there. Her report card gets mailed to that person's house.

I'm not sure what your point is? You're right, they don't have a COSA (true or not) - they are just attending an OOB school by pretending to live elsewhere. I just meant that they did not actually get a COSA. If they did, their mail/report cards would be getting mailed to their actual home address. Instead, the report cards get send to the address where they are not living/have never lived.

I'm not lying, if that's what you're implying. My DD has been to two of these girls' houses, and the parents are pretty up front that they do NOT live in bounds.

That doesn't mean they don't have a COSA.

Also, here is what MCPS requires to provide residency:

-Homeowners: If homeowner, a copy of your current property tax bill. A copy can be obtained for a fee from the Montgomery County Department of Finance at 240-777-8950 (or a free copy can be downloaded from the Montgomery County Department of Finance web site)

-Renters: If renter, a copy of your current (less than 1 year old) lease. If lease is more than 1 year old, a copy of your lease and a current utility bill

-Shared Housing Residents: If living in shared housing, a notarized MCPS Form 335-74: Shared Housing Disclosure (available at all schools) and either a copy of the current property tax bill of the homeowner or a copy of the lease of renter with whom student and parent are living and other supporting documents. Supporting documents for shared housing must be in the name of parent/guardian at the address shown on MCPS Form 335-74: Shared Housing Disclosure: Examples of acceptable supporting documents are W-2, current pay stub, income tax return, two consecutive bank statements, medical bills, car registration, car insurance policy/bill, current utility bill, current phone bill, voter registration card, INS application, government or official correspondence at residential address. Three documents are needed.


So, how did they fake their residency? Just getting your mail mailed to somebody else's address is not enough to prove residency.

Or is MCPS not enforcing its residency requirements?

[Anonymous]

I get you, OP. I was shocked to see so many out of bounds addresses in our overcapacity school. We're in a higher grade in ES; I hope the younger grades reflect a change in policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get you, OP. I was shocked to see so many out of bounds addresses in our overcapacity school. We're in a higher grade in ES; I hope the younger grades reflect a change in policy.

They don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I know the family who uses a friend's address has their mail sent there. Her report card gets mailed to that person's house.

I'm not sure what your point is? You're right, they don't have a COSA (true or not) - they are just attending an OOB school by pretending to live elsewhere. I just meant that they did not actually get a COSA. If they did, their mail/report cards would be getting mailed to their actual home address. Instead, the report cards get send to the address where they are not living/have never lived.

I'm not lying, if that's what you're implying. My DD has been to two of these girls' houses, and the parents are pretty up front that they do NOT live in bounds.

That doesn't mean they don't have a COSA.

Also, here is what MCPS requires to provide residency:

-Homeowners: If homeowner, a copy of your current property tax bill. A copy can be obtained for a fee from the Montgomery County Department of Finance at 240-777-8950 (or a free copy can be downloaded from the Montgomery County Department of Finance web site)

-Renters: If renter, a copy of your current (less than 1 year old) lease. If lease is more than 1 year old, a copy of your lease and a current utility bill

-Shared Housing Residents: If living in shared housing, a notarized MCPS Form 335-74: Shared Housing Disclosure (available at all schools) and either a copy of the current property tax bill of the homeowner or a copy of the lease of renter with whom student and parent are living and other supporting documents. Supporting documents for shared housing must be in the name of parent/guardian at the address shown on MCPS Form 335-74: Shared Housing Disclosure: Examples of acceptable supporting documents are W-2, current pay stub, income tax return, two consecutive bank statements, medical bills, car registration, car insurance policy/bill, current utility bill, current phone bill, voter registration card, INS application, government or official correspondence at residential address. Three documents are needed.


So, how did they fake their residency? Just getting your mail mailed to somebody else's address is not enough to prove residency.

Or is MCPS not enforcing its residency requirements?

This would be my guess.

I am good friends with a mom who attends my DS' school and she lives OOB. She did NOT apply for a COSA, but has never had to provide all that documentation. They falsely use a relative's address and have never had any issues.

The only down side for them is that they don't get the weekly robo-calls on Sundays from our ES principal because they don't have the correct phone number.