WaPo takes deep dive into DCPS residency fraud
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Anonymous
Considering that the District is about to get a $2,000,000 pay day from parents of kids who didn't send in their out-of-state tuition money and kid out the freeloaders I think she was right. |
Anonymous
in contrast, Wilson gets $7,000 per student. Maybe Wilson should get the money the Ellington is stealing. As a whole, the school is doing a lot with the money it has. |
Anonymous
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From OSSE's press release https://osse.dc.gov/release/osse-uncovers-suspected-residency-fraud-review-school-enrollment-records
..."OSSE’s investigation found that many student files did not have the documentation required to prove bona fide District residency. Of the 570 student files OSSE investigated at Ellington: •304 students are deemed to be residents. These students were determined to be residents of the District through a review of the evidence gathered during the investigation. •46 students are deemed to be non-residents with existing tuition payment agreements with the District. •164 students are deemed to be non-residents without sufficient documentation to prove residency. These students either did not have sufficient documentation or a non-residency determination has been made as a result of the preliminary investigation. These students do not have an active tuition agreement with the District. •56 students are still under investigation by OSSE, as the information obtained about their actual place of residence is inconclusive after the investigation. OSSE will give these families a final opportunity to prove their District residency. In some of the non-resident findings, students had residency documents that, upon first review, appeared to be sufficient and adequate documentation of bona fide District residency. However, upon deeper investigation, they were deemed to be insufficient or fraudulent. OSSE is referring all findings of non-residency at Ellington to OAG – a total of 164 cases. OSSE is not directing families with students at Ellington or at other schools to withdraw students immediately, as individual families may attempt to resolve their non-residency issues with OAG for a limited time. However, all students must annually demonstrate their residency to re-enroll in District schools, and non-residents must pay all tuition owed by July 15, 2018. Corrective Plan for Ellington OSSE is issuing a corrective action plan for Ellington and DCPS to require a review of staffing and internal controls, a plan for staff independent of Ellington to oversee residency verification and enrollment for the 2018-19 school year, and re-training of all DCPS registrars. OSSE will also require verification of 100 percent of all residency documentation at Ellington for the next five years at the time of the annual enrollment audit. OSSE will also provide all of its case documentation and investigative outcomes to OAG and the Office of the Inspector General for further investigation of Ellington staff and administration. Additionally, as part of OSSE’s annual enrollment audit of other District and Public Charter Schools, 111 families were identified as non-residents who were subsequently unable to prove residency. Those families are being referred to OAG." |
Anonymous
Exactly. Because they "play the oboe" or some other bullshit reason. Meanwhile we've been stressing over how we make our child's application more attractive (should we have her audition on a less traditional instrument? Should we have lessons in oboe?) so she can get in. |
Anonymous
You don't seriously think the District is going to be able to recover those assessments? Have you heard of bankruptcy? |
Anonymous
this is about deterrence -- it's not about righting a fiscal wrong |
Anonymous
my guess is greater than 50% of these families have government jobs (Federal or state) These will all be able to establish a payment plan. |
Anonymous
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There needs to be a companion story on how many of the honest 46 non-residents are up on their tuition payments.
And some exploration of whether the tuition amount is appropriate given the schools operating costs. |
Anonymous
Across DCPS: 111 Families - maybe 250 kids? Across Ellington - 164 students! I hope DCPS goes after all of them for the multiple years of tuition X 3 |
Anonymous
| I'd like to know how they did this investigation of the entire student body, and why they can't replicate it at other schools. I expect that Ellington's fraud is larger than other schools, due to its history and specialty, but doing the full scrub at a few other schools would either shine a light on the problem or put the questions to bed. |
Anonymous
| How sad that there aren't enough talented students in DC to fill up this school. So many DCPS high schools have enrollments the size of smaller elementary schools in other jurisdictions. |
Anonymous
OSSE was given more money for the 2017-18 audit to look deeper for residency fraud. They looked at a random 20% of all records at all schools, and if there were significant errors in that sample, they expanded and looked at 100% of that school's records. That's how they surfaced the other 111 non-Ellington cases this year. |
Anonymous
You don't know that. They turn away students every year. |
Anonymous
| They will NEVER kick these kids out. I would be completely shocked if they did. The kids will stay pending further investigations that will go on for years. I just think this is the way Ellington has been since it was founded. Heck Dave Chapelke talks about living in Silver Spring and attending Ellington in his comedy routines! |
Anonymous
That's a flawed premise -- many talented students don't pursue specialized performing arts school. Same is true in suburbs even among those willing to pay tuition. |