Attorney General files suit against 16 people for school residency fraud

[Anonymous]

I work in DC Medicaid and there is tremendous fraud by Maryland residents who claim to live in the District because our benefits are better (but the poor can't afford to live in DC).
Sometimes it feels like a full half of our members live in Maryland. However, it is really difficult to turn people in because their health hangs in the balance (and the city really doesn't seem to care because they receive a percentage of federal money for these people).
That said, we're talking millions vs. the thousands being defrauded by MD residents via the school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean really, a false-claims act suit against a DC bus attendant who moved to MD? I get why these have to be done, but yeah ... harsh. I wish there were a better way. At a minimum, it seems really harsh to employ people in DC who can't afford to live here.

Come on, people are stealing 10s-100s of thousands of DC tax dollars for convenience and to game the system. I don't care what your income is- MD has the same services. It's not like they would go without.

It's not for convenience. Some parents are desperately trying to break the cycle of poverty and offer their kids a fighting chance.

When I first moved to the DMV the only place that I could afford was in PG County. When my child was ready for kindergarten, the local school options were horrific. Like 2+2=hot dog kinds of horrific. I began looking at charter and specialty schools, but they were only a notch above the other schools. I considered private, but got scared by the costs (before I knew that we would be eligible for FA), so we entered the DC lottery (with our real address and being completely transparent). We were admitted to a DC school and I began to inquire what I would need to do to pay the required tuition for out of state students. No. One. Knew. Not one staff member knew what to do. Because I didn't want to break the rules I ended up red-shirting my kid (August bday) and then I started talking to privates who helped me better understand that despite being well above the poverty level (although still poor in the DMV), I would still qualify for some financial aid. I pay what I would have paid if I was able to pay for the DC public school, but most people can't afford that.

Sorry, but that is a BS excuse. PG schools are no worse than the DC ones in this lawsuit. The difference is that DC offers free child care. Which we, DC residents, pay for, through taxes. It's expensive and not a social service for MD residents.

My life and the educational future of my kid is not a "BS excuse". I'm not sure which schools are listed in the lawsuit, but our options were schools that ranked #836 out of the 853 public elementary schools in the state of Maryland. It's my responsibility to give my child a fighting chance and while definitely ethically questionable, it's more like a case of a man with no money who steals bread to feed his family.

Are you sure that the *only* place you could afford to live was a place with horrible schools? Or was it that you didn't plan ahead adequately re: schools before you moved there?

Before moving here I was freshly divorced, homeless, and unemployed staying temporarily with a friend in Cecil County. After MANY months of searching in several states I finally got a job offer in DC and with extremely limited money took a small one bedroom apartment that I could afford. When I started to get back on my feet financially I looked for places in better areas/school districts and my rent would have TRIPLED for even a crappy 2 bedroom apartment in the city or Montgo.

Let me guess - you're a pro-lifer who then treats poor people like societal leeches when they fall on hard times, even temporarily. You and your judgement are what's wrong with this world and I'm done wasting energy on jerks like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean really, a false-claims act suit against a DC bus attendant who moved to MD? I get why these have to be done, but yeah ... harsh. I wish there were a better way. At a minimum, it seems really harsh to employ people in DC who can't afford to live here.

Come on, people are stealing 10s-100s of thousands of DC tax dollars for convenience and to game the system. I don't care what your income is- MD has the same services. It's not like they would go without.

It's not for convenience. Some parents are desperately trying to break the cycle of poverty and offer their kids a fighting chance.

When I first moved to the DMV the only place that I could afford was in PG County. When my child was ready for kindergarten, the local school options were horrific. Like 2+2=hot dog kinds of horrific. I began looking at charter and specialty schools, but they were only a notch above the other schools. I considered private, but got scared by the costs (before I knew that we would be eligible for FA), so we entered the DC lottery (with our real address and being completely transparent). We were admitted to a DC school and I began to inquire what I would need to do to pay the required tuition for out of state students. No. One. Knew. Not one staff member knew what to do. Because I didn't want to break the rules I ended up red-shirting my kid (August bday) and then I started talking to privates who helped me better understand that despite being well above the poverty level (although still poor in the DMV), I would still qualify for some financial aid. I pay what I would have paid if I was able to pay for the DC public school, but most people can't afford that.

Sorry, but that is a BS excuse. PG schools are no worse than the DC ones in this lawsuit. The difference is that DC offers free child care. Which we, DC residents, pay for, through taxes. It's expensive and not a social service for MD residents.

My life and the educational future of my kid is not a "BS excuse". I'm not sure which schools are listed in the lawsuit, but our options were schools that ranked #836 out of the 853 public elementary schools in the state of Maryland. It's my responsibility to give my child a fighting chance and while definitely ethically questionable, it's more like a case of a man with no money who steals bread to feed his family.

Are you sure that the *only* place you could afford to live was a place with horrible schools? Or was it that you didn't plan ahead adequately re: schools before you moved there?

DP. It's cute that you think everyone can "plan ahead adequately" about the schools where they can afford to live.

PP. See the bolded above--it literally sounds like the PG poster didn't think about schools until it was time for K. If she is well above the poverty line as she says, she could have planned ahead and chosen to live somewhere with schools that were more acceptable to her. I wonder if she wanted more space and so chose PG, whereas others sacrifice space for better schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean really, a false-claims act suit against a DC bus attendant who moved to MD? I get why these have to be done, but yeah ... harsh. I wish there were a better way. At a minimum, it seems really harsh to employ people in DC who can't afford to live here.

Come on, people are stealing 10s-100s of thousands of DC tax dollars for convenience and to game the system. I don't care what your income is- MD has the same services. It's not like they would go without.

It's not for convenience. Some parents are desperately trying to break the cycle of poverty and offer their kids a fighting chance.

When I first moved to the DMV the only place that I could afford was in PG County. When my child was ready for kindergarten, the local school options were horrific. Like 2+2=hot dog kinds of horrific. I began looking at charter and specialty schools, but they were only a notch above the other schools. I considered private, but got scared by the costs (before I knew that we would be eligible for FA), so we entered the DC lottery (with our real address and being completely transparent). We were admitted to a DC school and I began to inquire what I would need to do to pay the required tuition for out of state students. No. One. Knew. Not one staff member knew what to do. Because I didn't want to break the rules I ended up red-shirting my kid (August bday) and then I started talking to privates who helped me better understand that despite being well above the poverty level (although still poor in the DMV), I would still qualify for some financial aid. I pay what I would have paid if I was able to pay for the DC public school, but most people can't afford that.

Sorry, but that is a BS excuse. PG schools are no worse than the DC ones in this lawsuit. The difference is that DC offers free child care. Which we, DC residents, pay for, through taxes. It's expensive and not a social service for MD residents.

My life and the educational future of my kid is not a "BS excuse". I'm not sure which schools are listed in the lawsuit, but our options were schools that ranked #836 out of the 853 public elementary schools in the state of Maryland. It's my responsibility to give my child a fighting chance and while definitely ethically questionable, it's more like a case of a man with no money who steals bread to feed his family.

Are you sure that the *only* place you could afford to live was a place with horrible schools? Or was it that you didn't plan ahead adequately re: schools before you moved there?

DP. It's cute that you think everyone can "plan ahead adequately" about the schools where they can afford to live.

It's appalling that you think cheating on residency forms, when you are paid by the very citizens you are stealing from, is totally ok.

It's appalling that you think it's ok to lie, cheat and steal to send your kid to a school you like. Do what everyone else does- plan, commute, think. The rest of us don't steal and we don't make excuses for it either. But go ahead, pat yourself on the back for taking from a school district with a 70% FARMS rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean really, a false-claims act suit against a DC bus attendant who moved to MD? I get why these have to be done, but yeah ... harsh. I wish there were a better way. At a minimum, it seems really harsh to employ people in DC who can't afford to live here.

Come on, people are stealing 10s-100s of thousands of DC tax dollars for convenience and to game the system. I don't care what your income is- MD has the same services. It's not like they would go without.

It's not for convenience. Some parents are desperately trying to break the cycle of poverty and offer their kids a fighting chance.

When I first moved to the DMV the only place that I could afford was in PG County. When my child was ready for kindergarten, the local school options were horrific. Like 2+2=hot dog kinds of horrific. I began looking at charter and specialty schools, but they were only a notch above the other schools. I considered private, but got scared by the costs (before I knew that we would be eligible for FA), so we entered the DC lottery (with our real address and being completely transparent). We were admitted to a DC school and I began to inquire what I would need to do to pay the required tuition for out of state students. No. One. Knew. Not one staff member knew what to do. Because I didn't want to break the rules I ended up red-shirting my kid (August bday) and then I started talking to privates who helped me better understand that despite being well above the poverty level (although still poor in the DMV), I would still qualify for some financial aid. I pay what I would have paid if I was able to pay for the DC public school, but most people can't afford that.

Sorry, but that is a BS excuse. PG schools are no worse than the DC ones in this lawsuit. The difference is that DC offers free child care. Which we, DC residents, pay for, through taxes. It's expensive and not a social service for MD residents.

My life and the educational future of my kid is not a "BS excuse". I'm not sure which schools are listed in the lawsuit, but our options were schools that ranked #836 out of the 853 public elementary schools in the state of Maryland. It's my responsibility to give my child a fighting chance and while definitely ethically questionable, it's more like a case of a man with no money who steals bread to feed his family.

Funny how you said you were "well above the poverty level" though. Sorry but I just can't see prioritizing Maryland residents above DC residents who are below the poverty level. If we let all those Maryland kids in, it would be thousands of kids with no taxes to fund it.

Do you know what the poverty level is??? https://www.thebalance.com/federal-poverty-level-definition-guidelines-chart-3305843
The poverty level for a family of two is $16,910.

$16,910. So yes, the $59K I made last year is well above the poverty level, but doesn't do jack shit when you have a kid in the DMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean really, a false-claims act suit against a DC bus attendant who moved to MD? I get why these have to be done, but yeah ... harsh. I wish there were a better way. At a minimum, it seems really harsh to employ people in DC who can't afford to live here.

Come on, people are stealing 10s-100s of thousands of DC tax dollars for convenience and to game the system. I don't care what your income is- MD has the same services. It's not like they would go without.

It's not for convenience. Some parents are desperately trying to break the cycle of poverty and offer their kids a fighting chance.

When I first moved to the DMV the only place that I could afford was in PG County. When my child was ready for kindergarten, the local school options were horrific. Like 2+2=hot dog kinds of horrific. I began looking at charter and specialty schools, but they were only a notch above the other schools. I considered private, but got scared by the costs (before I knew that we would be eligible for FA), so we entered the DC lottery (with our real address and being completely transparent). We were admitted to a DC school and I began to inquire what I would need to do to pay the required tuition for out of state students. No. One. Knew. Not one staff member knew what to do. Because I didn't want to break the rules I ended up red-shirting my kid (August bday) and then I started talking to privates who helped me better understand that despite being well above the poverty level (although still poor in the DMV), I would still qualify for some financial aid. I pay what I would have paid if I was able to pay for the DC public school, but most people can't afford that.

Sorry, but that is a BS excuse. PG schools are no worse than the DC ones in this lawsuit. The difference is that DC offers free child care. Which we, DC residents, pay for, through taxes. It's expensive and not a social service for MD residents.

My life and the educational future of my kid is not a "BS excuse". I'm not sure which schools are listed in the lawsuit, but our options were schools that ranked #836 out of the 853 public elementary schools in the state of Maryland. It's my responsibility to give my child a fighting chance and while definitely ethically questionable, it's more like a case of a man with no money who steals bread to feed his family.

Are you sure that the *only* place you could afford to live was a place with horrible schools? Or was it that you didn't plan ahead adequately re: schools before you moved there?

Before moving here I was freshly divorced, homeless, and unemployed staying temporarily with a friend in Cecil County. After MANY months of searching in several states I finally got a job offer in DC and with extremely limited money took a small one bedroom apartment that I could afford. When I started to get back on my feet financially I looked for places in better areas/school districts and my rent would have TRIPLED for even a crappy 2 bedroom apartment in the city or Montgo.

Let me guess - you're a pro-lifer who then treats poor people like societal leeches when they fall on hard times, even temporarily. You and your judgement are what's wrong with this world and I'm done wasting energy on jerks like you.

NP - I think that people who know what the rules are, and knowingly, willingly break them just because they think it's best for them are what's wrong with this world. But, I suppose opinions vary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean really, a false-claims act suit against a DC bus attendant who moved to MD? I get why these have to be done, but yeah ... harsh. I wish there were a better way. At a minimum, it seems really harsh to employ people in DC who can't afford to live here.

Come on, people are stealing 10s-100s of thousands of DC tax dollars for convenience and to game the system. I don't care what your income is- MD has the same services. It's not like they would go without.

It's not for convenience. Some parents are desperately trying to break the cycle of poverty and offer their kids a fighting chance.

When I first moved to the DMV the only place that I could afford was in PG County. When my child was ready for kindergarten, the local school options were horrific. Like 2+2=hot dog kinds of horrific. I began looking at charter and specialty schools, but they were only a notch above the other schools. I considered private, but got scared by the costs (before I knew that we would be eligible for FA), so we entered the DC lottery (with our real address and being completely transparent). We were admitted to a DC school and I began to inquire what I would need to do to pay the required tuition for out of state students. No. One. Knew. Not one staff member knew what to do. Because I didn't want to break the rules I ended up red-shirting my kid (August bday) and then I started talking to privates who helped me better understand that despite being well above the poverty level (although still poor in the DMV), I would still qualify for some financial aid. I pay what I would have paid if I was able to pay for the DC public school, but most people can't afford that.

Sorry, but that is a BS excuse. PG schools are no worse than the DC ones in this lawsuit. The difference is that DC offers free child care. Which we, DC residents, pay for, through taxes. It's expensive and not a social service for MD residents.

My life and the educational future of my kid is not a "BS excuse". I'm not sure which schools are listed in the lawsuit, but our options were schools that ranked #836 out of the 853 public elementary schools in the state of Maryland. It's my responsibility to give my child a fighting chance and while definitely ethically questionable, it's more like a case of a man with no money who steals bread to feed his family.

Are you sure that the *only* place you could afford to live was a place with horrible schools? Or was it that you didn't plan ahead adequately re: schools before you moved there?

Before moving here I was freshly divorced, homeless, and unemployed staying temporarily with a friend in Cecil County. After MANY months of searching in several states I finally got a job offer in DC and with extremely limited money took a small one bedroom apartment that I could afford. When I started to get back on my feet financially I looked for places in better areas/school districts and my rent would have TRIPLED for even a crappy 2 bedroom apartment in the city or Montgo.

Let me guess - you're a pro-lifer who then treats poor people like societal leeches when they fall on hard times, even temporarily. You and your judgement are what's wrong with this world and I'm done wasting energy on jerks like you.

Huh? Pro-lifer? Look, I'm sorry you fell on hard times, but most people who cheat are not necessarily in your circumstances, and I still don't accept that the *only* choice you had was to illegally send your child to school in DC. There are plenty of relatively inexpensive apts. in Silver Spring etc. that have higher-ranked schools than most of those in PG.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean really, a false-claims act suit against a DC bus attendant who moved to MD? I get why these have to be done, but yeah ... harsh. I wish there were a better way. At a minimum, it seems really harsh to employ people in DC who can't afford to live here.

Come on, people are stealing 10s-100s of thousands of DC tax dollars for convenience and to game the system. I don't care what your income is- MD has the same services. It's not like they would go without.

It's not for convenience. Some parents are desperately trying to break the cycle of poverty and offer their kids a fighting chance.

When I first moved to the DMV the only place that I could afford was in PG County. When my child was ready for kindergarten, the local school options were horrific. Like 2+2=hot dog kinds of horrific. I began looking at charter and specialty schools, but they were only a notch above the other schools. I considered private, but got scared by the costs (before I knew that we would be eligible for FA), so we entered the DC lottery (with our real address and being completely transparent). We were admitted to a DC school and I began to inquire what I would need to do to pay the required tuition for out of state students. No. One. Knew. Not one staff member knew what to do. Because I didn't want to break the rules I ended up red-shirting my kid (August bday) and then I started talking to privates who helped me better understand that despite being well above the poverty level (although still poor in the DMV), I would still qualify for some financial aid. I pay what I would have paid if I was able to pay for the DC public school, but most people can't afford that.

Sorry, but that is a BS excuse. PG schools are no worse than the DC ones in this lawsuit. The difference is that DC offers free child care. Which we, DC residents, pay for, through taxes. It's expensive and not a social service for MD residents.

My life and the educational future of my kid is not a "BS excuse". I'm not sure which schools are listed in the lawsuit, but our options were schools that ranked #836 out of the 853 public elementary schools in the state of Maryland. It's my responsibility to give my child a fighting chance and while definitely ethically questionable, it's more like a case of a man with no money who steals bread to feed his family.

Are you sure that the *only* place you could afford to live was a place with horrible schools? Or was it that you didn't plan ahead adequately re: schools before you moved there?

DP. It's cute that you think everyone can "plan ahead adequately" about the schools where they can afford to live.

PP. See the bolded above--it literally sounds like the PG poster didn't think about schools until it was time for K. If she is well above the poverty line as she says, she could have planned ahead and chosen to live somewhere with schools that were more acceptable to her. I wonder if she wanted more space and so chose PG, whereas others sacrifice space for better schools.

See my post about what the hell the poverty level is. You're either ignorant or pretending to be which all makes you insufferable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean really, a false-claims act suit against a DC bus attendant who moved to MD? I get why these have to be done, but yeah ... harsh. I wish there were a better way. At a minimum, it seems really harsh to employ people in DC who can't afford to live here.

Come on, people are stealing 10s-100s of thousands of DC tax dollars for convenience and to game the system. I don't care what your income is- MD has the same services. It's not like they would go without.

It's not for convenience. Some parents are desperately trying to break the cycle of poverty and offer their kids a fighting chance.

When I first moved to the DMV the only place that I could afford was in PG County. When my child was ready for kindergarten, the local school options were horrific. Like 2+2=hot dog kinds of horrific. I began looking at charter and specialty schools, but they were only a notch above the other schools. I considered private, but got scared by the costs (before I knew that we would be eligible for FA), so we entered the DC lottery (with our real address and being completely transparent). We were admitted to a DC school and I began to inquire what I would need to do to pay the required tuition for out of state students. No. One. Knew. Not one staff member knew what to do. Because I didn't want to break the rules I ended up red-shirting my kid (August bday) and then I started talking to privates who helped me better understand that despite being well above the poverty level (although still poor in the DMV), I would still qualify for some financial aid. I pay what I would have paid if I was able to pay for the DC public school, but most people can't afford that.

Sorry, but that is a BS excuse. PG schools are no worse than the DC ones in this lawsuit. The difference is that DC offers free child care. Which we, DC residents, pay for, through taxes. It's expensive and not a social service for MD residents.

My life and the educational future of my kid is not a "BS excuse". I'm not sure which schools are listed in the lawsuit, but our options were schools that ranked #836 out of the 853 public elementary schools in the state of Maryland. It's my responsibility to give my child a fighting chance and while definitely ethically questionable, it's more like a case of a man with no money who steals bread to feed his family.

Funny how you said you were "well above the poverty level" though. Sorry but I just can't see prioritizing Maryland residents above DC residents who are below the poverty level. If we let all those Maryland kids in, it would be thousands of kids with no taxes to fund it.

Do you know what the poverty level is??? https://www.thebalance.com/federal-poverty-level-definition-guidelines-chart-3305843
The poverty level for a family of two is $16,910.

$16,910. So yes, the $59K I made last year is well above the poverty level, but doesn't do jack shit when you have a kid in the DMV.

You can live in DC making $59k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean really, a false-claims act suit against a DC bus attendant who moved to MD? I get why these have to be done, but yeah ... harsh. I wish there were a better way. At a minimum, it seems really harsh to employ people in DC who can't afford to live here.

Come on, people are stealing 10s-100s of thousands of DC tax dollars for convenience and to game the system. I don't care what your income is- MD has the same services. It's not like they would go without.

It's not for convenience. Some parents are desperately trying to break the cycle of poverty and offer their kids a fighting chance.

When I first moved to the DMV the only place that I could afford was in PG County. When my child was ready for kindergarten, the local school options were horrific. Like 2+2=hot dog kinds of horrific. I began looking at charter and specialty schools, but they were only a notch above the other schools. I considered private, but got scared by the costs (before I knew that we would be eligible for FA), so we entered the DC lottery (with our real address and being completely transparent). We were admitted to a DC school and I began to inquire what I would need to do to pay the required tuition for out of state students. No. One. Knew. Not one staff member knew what to do. Because I didn't want to break the rules I ended up red-shirting my kid (August bday) and then I started talking to privates who helped me better understand that despite being well above the poverty level (although still poor in the DMV), I would still qualify for some financial aid. I pay what I would have paid if I was able to pay for the DC public school, but most people can't afford that.

Sorry, but that is a BS excuse. PG schools are no worse than the DC ones in this lawsuit. The difference is that DC offers free child care. Which we, DC residents, pay for, through taxes. It's expensive and not a social service for MD residents.

My life and the educational future of my kid is not a "BS excuse". I'm not sure which schools are listed in the lawsuit, but our options were schools that ranked #836 out of the 853 public elementary schools in the state of Maryland. It's my responsibility to give my child a fighting chance and while definitely ethically questionable, it's more like a case of a man with no money who steals bread to feed his family.

Funny how you said you were "well above the poverty level" though. Sorry but I just can't see prioritizing Maryland residents above DC residents who are below the poverty level. If we let all those Maryland kids in, it would be thousands of kids with no taxes to fund it.

Do you know what the poverty level is??? https://www.thebalance.com/federal-poverty-level-definition-guidelines-chart-3305843
The poverty level for a family of two is $16,910.

$16,910. So yes, the $59K I made last year is well above the poverty level, but doesn't do jack shit when you have a kid in the DMV.

Of course I know what it is. But if you were in charge of DCPS' budget, would you let in the vast number of lower-middle income kids who reside in Maryland? Or would you focus on people actually below the poverty line, which DC and Maryland have plenty of?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean really, a false-claims act suit against a DC bus attendant who moved to MD? I get why these have to be done, but yeah ... harsh. I wish there were a better way. At a minimum, it seems really harsh to employ people in DC who can't afford to live here.

Come on, people are stealing 10s-100s of thousands of DC tax dollars for convenience and to game the system. I don't care what your income is- MD has the same services. It's not like they would go without.

It's not for convenience. Some parents are desperately trying to break the cycle of poverty and offer their kids a fighting chance.

When I first moved to the DMV the only place that I could afford was in PG County. When my child was ready for kindergarten, the local school options were horrific. Like 2+2=hot dog kinds of horrific. I began looking at charter and specialty schools, but they were only a notch above the other schools. I considered private, but got scared by the costs (before I knew that we would be eligible for FA), so we entered the DC lottery (with our real address and being completely transparent). We were admitted to a DC school and I began to inquire what I would need to do to pay the required tuition for out of state students. No. One. Knew. Not one staff member knew what to do. Because I didn't want to break the rules I ended up red-shirting my kid (August bday) and then I started talking to privates who helped me better understand that despite being well above the poverty level (although still poor in the DMV), I would still qualify for some financial aid. I pay what I would have paid if I was able to pay for the DC public school, but most people can't afford that.

Sorry, but that is a BS excuse. PG schools are no worse than the DC ones in this lawsuit. The difference is that DC offers free child care. Which we, DC residents, pay for, through taxes. It's expensive and not a social service for MD residents.

My life and the educational future of my kid is not a "BS excuse". I'm not sure which schools are listed in the lawsuit, but our options were schools that ranked #836 out of the 853 public elementary schools in the state of Maryland. It's my responsibility to give my child a fighting chance and while definitely ethically questionable, it's more like a case of a man with no money who steals bread to feed his family.

Are you sure that the *only* place you could afford to live was a place with horrible schools? Or was it that you didn't plan ahead adequately re: schools before you moved there?

DP. It's cute that you think everyone can "plan ahead adequately" about the schools where they can afford to live.

So do we just open the borders then? If people like you think it's fine to educate MD kids on DC's dime, make it policy so that they don't have to cheat and lie! I think it's terrible that children see parents cheating and lying and are party to it.

This is the real question, and I would love to hear the response. Apparently, people think it's fine foe DC to pay to educate MD children. Is that right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean really, a false-claims act suit against a DC bus attendant who moved to MD? I get why these have to be done, but yeah ... harsh. I wish there were a better way. At a minimum, it seems really harsh to employ people in DC who can't afford to live here.

Come on, people are stealing 10s-100s of thousands of DC tax dollars for convenience and to game the system. I don't care what your income is- MD has the same services. It's not like they would go without.

It's not for convenience. Some parents are desperately trying to break the cycle of poverty and offer their kids a fighting chance.

When I first moved to the DMV the only place that I could afford was in PG County. When my child was ready for kindergarten, the local school options were horrific. Like 2+2=hot dog kinds of horrific. I began looking at charter and specialty schools, but they were only a notch above the other schools. I considered private, but got scared by the costs (before I knew that we would be eligible for FA), so we entered the DC lottery (with our real address and being completely transparent). We were admitted to a DC school and I began to inquire what I would need to do to pay the required tuition for out of state students. No. One. Knew. Not one staff member knew what to do. Because I didn't want to break the rules I ended up red-shirting my kid (August bday) and then I started talking to privates who helped me better understand that despite being well above the poverty level (although still poor in the DMV), I would still qualify for some financial aid. I pay what I would have paid if I was able to pay for the DC public school, but most people can't afford that.

Sorry, but that is a BS excuse. PG schools are no worse than the DC ones in this lawsuit. The difference is that DC offers free child care. Which we, DC residents, pay for, through taxes. It's expensive and not a social service for MD residents.

My life and the educational future of my kid is not a "BS excuse". I'm not sure which schools are listed in the lawsuit, but our options were schools that ranked #836 out of the 853 public elementary schools in the state of Maryland. It's my responsibility to give my child a fighting chance and while definitely ethically questionable, it's more like a case of a man with no money who steals bread to feed his family.

Are you sure that the *only* place you could afford to live was a place with horrible schools? Or was it that you didn't plan ahead adequately re: schools before you moved there?

Before moving here I was freshly divorced, homeless, and unemployed staying temporarily with a friend in Cecil County. After MANY months of searching in several states I finally got a job offer in DC and with extremely limited money took a small one bedroom apartment that I could afford. When I started to get back on my feet financially I looked for places in better areas/school districts and my rent would have TRIPLED for even a crappy 2 bedroom apartment in the city or Montgo.

Let me guess - you're a pro-lifer who then treats poor people like societal leeches when they fall on hard times, even temporarily. You and your judgement are what's wrong with this world and I'm done wasting energy on jerks like you.

Huh? Pro-lifer? Look, I'm sorry you fell on hard times, but most people who cheat are not necessarily in your circumstances, and I still don't accept that the *only* choice you had was to illegally send your child to school in DC. There are plenty of relatively inexpensive apts. in Silver Spring etc. that have higher-ranked schools than most of those in PG.

Did you even read??? I said that I DID NOT cheat and send my kid to a DC school as a Maryland resident. We're at an independent school where we receive financial aid and I pay a portion of the tuition. When we applied to DC schools I tried to pay the out of state tuition and no one knew what to do. So I kept my kid in daycare for an extra year while I found the private school that we're currently at.

[Anonymous]

There are tons of families living in DC in real poverty, not with parents that make 59K. I'd prioritize them over cheaters from MD, sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean really, a false-claims act suit against a DC bus attendant who moved to MD? I get why these have to be done, but yeah ... harsh. I wish there were a better way. At a minimum, it seems really harsh to employ people in DC who can't afford to live here.

Come on, people are stealing 10s-100s of thousands of DC tax dollars for convenience and to game the system. I don't care what your income is- MD has the same services. It's not like they would go without.

It's not for convenience. Some parents are desperately trying to break the cycle of poverty and offer their kids a fighting chance.

When I first moved to the DMV the only place that I could afford was in PG County. When my child was ready for kindergarten, the local school options were horrific. Like 2+2=hot dog kinds of horrific. I began looking at charter and specialty schools, but they were only a notch above the other schools. I considered private, but got scared by the costs (before I knew that we would be eligible for FA), so we entered the DC lottery (with our real address and being completely transparent). We were admitted to a DC school and I began to inquire what I would need to do to pay the required tuition for out of state students. No. One. Knew. Not one staff member knew what to do. Because I didn't want to break the rules I ended up red-shirting my kid (August bday) and then I started talking to privates who helped me better understand that despite being well above the poverty level (although still poor in the DMV), I would still qualify for some financial aid. I pay what I would have paid if I was able to pay for the DC public school, but most people can't afford that.

Sorry, but that is a BS excuse. PG schools are no worse than the DC ones in this lawsuit. The difference is that DC offers free child care. Which we, DC residents, pay for, through taxes. It's expensive and not a social service for MD residents.

My life and the educational future of my kid is not a "BS excuse". I'm not sure which schools are listed in the lawsuit, but our options were schools that ranked #836 out of the 853 public elementary schools in the state of Maryland. It's my responsibility to give my child a fighting chance and while definitely ethically questionable, it's more like a case of a man with no money who steals bread to feed his family.

Are you sure that the *only* place you could afford to live was a place with horrible schools? Or was it that you didn't plan ahead adequately re: schools before you moved there?

DP. It's cute that you think everyone can "plan ahead adequately" about the schools where they can afford to live.

It's appalling that you think cheating on residency forms, when you are paid by the very citizens you are stealing from, is totally ok.

It's appalling that you think it's ok to lie, cheat and steal to send your kid to a school you like. Do what everyone else does- plan, commute, think. The rest of us don't steal and we don't make excuses for it either. But go ahead, pat yourself on the back for taking from a school district with a 70% FARMS rate.

I don't love it, but I'm certainly not going to enter into high dudgeon because a bus aide living in PG County enrolled her kid in Miner Elementary school. The nation as a whole is failing a whole lot of kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean really, a false-claims act suit against a DC bus attendant who moved to MD? I get why these have to be done, but yeah ... harsh. I wish there were a better way. At a minimum, it seems really harsh to employ people in DC who can't afford to live here.

Come on, people are stealing 10s-100s of thousands of DC tax dollars for convenience and to game the system. I don't care what your income is- MD has the same services. It's not like they would go without.

It's not for convenience. Some parents are desperately trying to break the cycle of poverty and offer their kids a fighting chance.

When I first moved to the DMV the only place that I could afford was in PG County. When my child was ready for kindergarten, the local school options were horrific. Like 2+2=hot dog kinds of horrific. I began looking at charter and specialty schools, but they were only a notch above the other schools. I considered private, but got scared by the costs (before I knew that we would be eligible for FA), so we entered the DC lottery (with our real address and being completely transparent). We were admitted to a DC school and I began to inquire what I would need to do to pay the required tuition for out of state students. No. One. Knew. Not one staff member knew what to do. Because I didn't want to break the rules I ended up red-shirting my kid (August bday) and then I started talking to privates who helped me better understand that despite being well above the poverty level (although still poor in the DMV), I would still qualify for some financial aid. I pay what I would have paid if I was able to pay for the DC public school, but most people can't afford that.

Sorry, but that is a BS excuse. PG schools are no worse than the DC ones in this lawsuit. The difference is that DC offers free child care. Which we, DC residents, pay for, through taxes. It's expensive and not a social service for MD residents.

My life and the educational future of my kid is not a "BS excuse". I'm not sure which schools are listed in the lawsuit, but our options were schools that ranked #836 out of the 853 public elementary schools in the state of Maryland. It's my responsibility to give my child a fighting chance and while definitely ethically questionable, it's more like a case of a man with no money who steals bread to feed his family.

Are you sure that the *only* place you could afford to live was a place with horrible schools? Or was it that you didn't plan ahead adequately re: schools before you moved there?

DP. It's cute that you think everyone can "plan ahead adequately" about the schools where they can afford to live.

So do we just open the borders then? If people like you think it's fine to educate MD kids on DC's dime, make it policy so that they don't have to cheat and lie! I think it's terrible that children see parents cheating and lying and are party to it.

This is the real question, and I would love to hear the response. Apparently, people think it's fine foe DC to pay to educate MD children. Is that right?

This whole chain was started by someone who did not commit residency fraud, but instead redshirted her son and went private. She was offering information about how dysfunctional & “turn a blind eye” DC has been on this. Stop ripping on her!