MD kids lying to get into DC Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Except that you might be wasting taxpayer money on a pointless investigation, not to mention embarrassing the families in question and the school?

OR you will be helping a family who is really struggling to pay for daycare (in for a pre-K3/4 program) - or who would like to start contributing to a college fund but can't b/c of childcare / private school costs.

The bumped in VA were not poor. So why should those struggling in DC pay taxes to fund pre-K for others ? it's not like MD gives money to DC if the kids chnage places.

[Anonymous]

Except that you might be wasting taxpayer money on a pointless investigation, not to mention embarrassing the families in question and the school?

I fail to see how this type of investigation might be "embarassing."

I'm really surprised at the number of posters who assume that all MD residents with kids in DCPS are honestly paying tuition. I have a child in DCPS, and I can assure you that I have knowledge of no fewer that 10 people who are gaming the system to get free daycare since their public school systems don't have universal pre-k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm really surprised at the number of posters who assume that all MD residents with kids in DCPS are honestly paying tuition. I have a child in DCPS, and I can assure you that I have knowledge of no fewer that 10 people who are gaming the system to get free daycare since their public school systems don't have universal pre-k.

Please report these families - there are waitlists for the pre-K programs. Tax paying residents of DC would love to have these spots.

[Anonymous]

FWIW I also think that MD & VA parents shouldn't be allowed in to dc PRIVATES as well until all slots with DC children are filled. I hate it when a DC child gets bumped because of a kid based on "geographical diversity". But that's another thread.

[Anonymous]

I believe the rule is that out of state residents can only send their kids to DCPS and pay tuition if there is room in the school after DC students are given priority. Therefore, it's highly unlikely that in schools that have waiting lists, there would be ANY empty slots for out of state students. I know of at least two families that sent their kids to Murch and Janney (now at Deal) who don't live in DC and who aren't paying tuition. I think it sucks, but I'm not about to start turning people in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it sucks, but I'm not about to start turning people in.

I'm curious as to why not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW I also think that MD & VA parents shouldn't be allowed in to dc PRIVATES as well until all slots with DC children are filled. I hate it when a DC child gets bumped because of a kid based on "geographical diversity". But that's another thread.

Do you mean DC Charter schools, or are you referencing independent schools like GDS or St. Alban's, etc... In that case, private is private and it makes no difference where students and their families live.

[Anonymous]

Because DC is dysfunctional. How else did $50M worth of tax revenue get siphoned off without anyone noticing? All sorts of things happen to tax money because many govt employees don't care about the big picture - only about their world. So at best it makes no difference and at worse it may fall into "no good deed goes unpunished" category. I've lived in the city for 15 years and I've seen it get alot better but its still pretty bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW I also think that MD & VA parents shouldn't be allowed in to dc PRIVATES as well until all slots with DC children are filled. I hate it when a DC child gets bumped because of a kid based on "geographical diversity". But that's another thread.

Do you mean DC Charter schools, or are you referencing independent schools like GDS or St. Alban's, etc... In that case, private is private and it makes no difference where students and their families live.

Yeah, it seems as if she thinks the land the school is built on makes it a neighborhood school. Of course where you live should have no bearing on attending a private school. It's one of the biggest differences between a private and public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The bumped in VA were not poor. So why should those struggling in DC pay taxes to fund pre-K for others ? it's not like MD gives money to DC if the kids chnage places.

Actually, it is like MD and VA taxpayers are paying for the DC kids who sneak into their school systems. By the nature of this problem, we probably won't find any statistics on flows from DC into, say, the BCC or Whitman districts. But I'm willing to bet, given the reputation of DC publics, that there are more kids sneaking out of DC than into DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Except that you might be wasting taxpayer money on a pointless investigation, not to mention embarrassing the families in question and the school?

I fail to see how this type of investigation might be "embarassing."

"Mrs. Smith, this is a message from your school administrator. The DC School Residency Investigation office is looking into whether your family is attending our school legitimately. You may wonder why your family has been singled out: individual investigations are generally sparked by a call to the tip line. I know you filled out the forms at the beginning of the year, but peoples' living situations change. Please contact our office as soon as possible to verify that you are either a DC resident, or paying your $10K out-of-state bill."

And why do you want to do this to somebody, when you could answer the question yourself just by asking the school administration a quick question or two?

[Anonymous]

As a teacher in DC, I have been aware of the occasional student who lived in PG County. School administrators are usually also aware-- it's really the worst-kept secret. The thing is, once a student is a member of the school community, there's no will to throw him or her out. It's really hard to accept that there should be.

[Anonymous]

Mrs. Smith, this is a message from your school administrator. The DC School Residency Investigation office is looking into whether your family is attending our school legitimately. You may wonder why your family has been singled out: individual investigations are generally sparked by a call to the tip line. I know you filled out the forms at the beginning of the year, but peoples' living situations change. Please contact our office as soon as possible to verify that you are either a DC resident, or paying your $10K out-of-state bill."

and this is embarassing, how?

[Anonymous]

Maybe a better word is "insulting".

Put yourself in Mrs. Smith's place, and think about the checks you wrote to cover that $10K. Then imagine discovering that your fellow parents believe, incorrectly, that you are a scofflaw, and that some of them even tried to get you kicked out of the school that you are rightfully a part of.

Then consider that this could all have been avoided (and taxpayer money saved) if the concerned parents had just asked the school administrators a question or two. Simple, reduces the risk of offending the innocent, and all at no cost to the taxpayer.

Which begs the question:

and your approach is OK, how?

[Anonymous]

This is why DC is dysfunctional. When even its wealthiest residents dont care enough to help save the city and stop the fleecing of it's tax dollars, how can they expect a city employee who makes $40k and lives 20miles away to care.