Attorney General files suit against 16 people for school residency fraud

[Anonymous]

What initiates theses cases? Suspect documentation turned over from the registrar to OSSE?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What initiates theses cases? Suspect documentation turned over from the registrar to OSSE?

Could be. Calls to the hotline. Mail that bounces back from bad addresses. Tax and payroll data matches comparing addresses.

[Anonymous]

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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.

So you did the right thing. So why would you defend people who are stealing?

You can have sympathy for people in need and still feel that it's wrong to steal.

Because people who have actually walked the walk are likely to be sympathetic to others, and not have your rigid sense that someone who is trying to get a good education for their kid is "stealing."

It is unquestionably stealing, their motives notwithstanding. And your attempt to portray all these people as modern day Jean Valjeans is absurd. They weren't starving, and had schools they could go to. Pulling on heartstrings indicates that you don't have a reasoned argument as to why MD kids should be permitted to attend DC schools, or why parents who willfully lie to cheat DC shouldn't be punished.

DC Pols literally gave away a public DC playing field to a private school. I'm definitely not getting exercised about moms sending their kids to DC schools.

Is that what you believe is a reasoned argument?

yes, I do. If you can't see the overarching unfairness of prosecuting poor/lower-class parents, then you're not much for analyzing structural inequities in this country.

Again, you are appealing to emotions, and not addressing the core issues here. I repeat - why should DC permit MD kids to attend DC schools free of charge? Should the kids be permitted to stay in the schools? Shouldn't DC funds be directed toward DC residents, many of whom are in much more dire straits than the parents/kids described in the complaints?

Schools aren't operated or funded on a national basis, and it is not DC's responsibility, or in its interest, to try to address cross-jurisdictional "structural inequities." We already bear a disproportionate share of of responsibility for the homeless in the region; we're not taking on the education of suburban kids as well.

And how do you think prosecutorial decisions are made? Emotion, values. Don't be naive. I can both think that it's acceptable to try to limit DC schools to DC taxpayers, and that I don't approve of bringing the hammer down on poor moms whose crime is sending their kids to school.

Will you answer the three questions posed above? You don't have to, of course, but your answers would enable a more informed responses.

[Anonymous]

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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?

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.

So you did the right thing. So why would you defend people who are stealing?

You can have sympathy for people in need and still feel that it's wrong to steal.

Because people who have actually walked the walk are likely to be sympathetic to others, and not have your rigid sense that someone who is trying to get a good education for their kid is "stealing."

It is unquestionably stealing, their motives notwithstanding. And your attempt to portray all these people as modern day Jean Valjeans is absurd. They weren't starving, and had schools they could go to. Pulling on heartstrings indicates that you don't have a reasoned argument as to why MD kids should be permitted to attend DC schools, or why parents who willfully lie to cheat DC shouldn't be punished.

DC Pols literally gave away a public DC playing field to a private school. I'm definitely not getting exercised about moms sending their kids to DC schools.

Is that what you believe is a reasoned argument?

yes, I do. If you can't see the overarching unfairness of prosecuting poor/lower-class parents, then you're not much for analyzing structural inequities in this country.

Again, you are appealing to emotions, and not addressing the core issues here. I repeat - why should DC permit MD kids to attend DC schools free of charge? Should the kids be permitted to stay in the schools? Shouldn't DC funds be directed toward DC residents, many of whom are in much more dire straits than the parents/kids described in the complaints?

Schools aren't operated or funded on a national basis, and it is not DC's responsibility, or in its interest, to try to address cross-jurisdictional "structural inequities." We already bear a disproportionate share of of responsibility for the homeless in the region; we're not taking on the education of suburban kids as well.

And how do you think prosecutorial decisions are made? Emotion, values. Don't be naive. I can both think that it's acceptable to try to limit DC schools to DC taxpayers, and that I don't approve of bringing the hammer down on poor moms whose crime is sending their kids to school.

Will you answer the three questions posed above? You don't have to, of course, but your answers would enable a more informed responses.

And also a fourth - you believe it is acceptable to limit DC schools to DC taxpayers. Other than prosecutions, how should we do this?

[Anonymous]

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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?

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.

So you did the right thing. So why would you defend people who are stealing?

You can have sympathy for people in need and still feel that it's wrong to steal.

Because people who have actually walked the walk are likely to be sympathetic to others, and not have your rigid sense that someone who is trying to get a good education for their kid is "stealing."

It is unquestionably stealing, their motives notwithstanding. And your attempt to portray all these people as modern day Jean Valjeans is absurd. They weren't starving, and had schools they could go to. Pulling on heartstrings indicates that you don't have a reasoned argument as to why MD kids should be permitted to attend DC schools, or why parents who willfully lie to cheat DC shouldn't be punished.

DC Pols literally gave away a public DC playing field to a private school. I'm definitely not getting exercised about moms sending their kids to DC schools.

Is that what you believe is a reasoned argument?

yes, I do. If you can't see the overarching unfairness of prosecuting poor/lower-class parents, then you're not much for analyzing structural inequities in this country.

Again, you are appealing to emotions, and not addressing the core issues here. I repeat - why should DC permit MD kids to attend DC schools free of charge? Should the kids be permitted to stay in the schools? Shouldn't DC funds be directed toward DC residents, many of whom are in much more dire straits than the parents/kids described in the complaints?

Schools aren't operated or funded on a national basis, and it is not DC's responsibility, or in its interest, to try to address cross-jurisdictional "structural inequities." We already bear a disproportionate share of of responsibility for the homeless in the region; we're not taking on the education of suburban kids as well.

And how do you think prosecutorial decisions are made? Emotion, values. Don't be naive. I can both think that it's acceptable to try to limit DC schools to DC taxpayers, and that I don't approve of bringing the hammer down on poor moms whose crime is sending their kids to school.

Will you answer the three questions posed above? You don't have to, of course, but your answers would enable a more informed responses.

no, because I don't agree with the premise: that prosecuting this handful of parents is going to create some huge windfall surplus that will magically lift all the DC students up. No, the only impact will be to disproportionately hurt families that IMO didn't do anything all that wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. We have homeless kids in DC who can't even travel safely to a school they are entitled to attend but I'm supposed to feel sympathy for these cheaters?

Get outta here with that mess.

let me tell you, suing a bus aide for treble damages is NOT going to mean that DC magically supports homeless kids better. that's not the way it works.

So which is it?

Should DC investigate and deal with residency fraud ? Or should they ignore it and do nothing ?

The bus aid knew she was doing the wrong thing and choose to take the risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

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.

So you did the right thing. So why would you defend people who are stealing?

You can have sympathy for people in need and still feel that it's wrong to steal.

Because people who have actually walked the walk are likely to be sympathetic to others, and not have your rigid sense that someone who is trying to get a good education for their kid is "stealing."

It is unquestionably stealing, their motives notwithstanding. And your attempt to portray all these people as modern day Jean Valjeans is absurd. They weren't starving, and had schools they could go to. Pulling on heartstrings indicates that you don't have a reasoned argument as to why MD kids should be permitted to attend DC schools, or why parents who willfully lie to cheat DC shouldn't be punished.

DC Pols literally gave away a public DC playing field to a private school. I'm definitely not getting exercised about moms sending their kids to DC schools.

Is that what you believe is a reasoned argument?

yes, I do. If you can't see the overarching unfairness of prosecuting poor/lower-class parents, then you're not much for analyzing structural inequities in this country.

Again, you are appealing to emotions, and not addressing the core issues here. I repeat - why should DC permit MD kids to attend DC schools free of charge? Should the kids be permitted to stay in the schools? Shouldn't DC funds be directed toward DC residents, many of whom are in much more dire straits than the parents/kids described in the complaints?

Schools aren't operated or funded on a national basis, and it is not DC's responsibility, or in its interest, to try to address cross-jurisdictional "structural inequities." We already bear a disproportionate share of of responsibility for the homeless in the region; we're not taking on the education of suburban kids as well.

And how do you think prosecutorial decisions are made? Emotion, values. Don't be naive. I can both think that it's acceptable to try to limit DC schools to DC taxpayers, and that I don't approve of bringing the hammer down on poor moms whose crime is sending their kids to school.

Will you answer the three questions posed above? You don't have to, of course, but your answers would enable a more informed responses.

And also a fourth - you believe it is acceptable to limit DC schools to DC taxpayers. Other than prosecutions, how should we do this?

I don't know - but I'm not the person out to hammer on parents who are enrolling their kids in DC schools. It's on the prosecutors to justify whether the punishment fits the crime. I think our current tightening of enrollment paperwork is probably enough. I think it would be a nice idea if someone would figure out how to do cross-boundary choice for people who work low-wage civil service jobs in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. We have homeless kids in DC who can't even travel safely to a school they are entitled to attend but I'm supposed to feel sympathy for these cheaters?

Get outta here with that mess.

let me tell you, suing a bus aide for treble damages is NOT going to mean that DC magically supports homeless kids better. that's not the way it works.

So which is it?

Should DC investigate and deal with residency fraud ? Or should they ignore it and do nothing ?

The bus aid knew she was doing the wrong thing and choose to take the risk.

They should ignore it and focus on steps that will actually help DC students. Not pretend they're fixing DC schools through the creation of scapegoats.

[Anonymous]

Fraudsters and thieves go home.

Or pony up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

They should ignore it and focus on steps that will actually help DC students. Not pretend they're fixing DC schools through the creation of scapegoats.

So DC government should just allow folks from all over to enroll their kids in DCPS while DC taxpayers foot the bill? How is applying the per student allocation to children who do not have the right to attend supposed to fix DC schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

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.

So you did the right thing. So why would you defend people who are stealing?

You can have sympathy for people in need and still feel that it's wrong to steal.

Because people who have actually walked the walk are likely to be sympathetic to others, and not have your rigid sense that someone who is trying to get a good education for their kid is "stealing."

It is unquestionably stealing, their motives notwithstanding. And your attempt to portray all these people as modern day Jean Valjeans is absurd. They weren't starving, and had schools they could go to. Pulling on heartstrings indicates that you don't have a reasoned argument as to why MD kids should be permitted to attend DC schools, or why parents who willfully lie to cheat DC shouldn't be punished.

DC Pols literally gave away a public DC playing field to a private school. I'm definitely not getting exercised about moms sending their kids to DC schools.

Is that what you believe is a reasoned argument?

yes, I do. If you can't see the overarching unfairness of prosecuting poor/lower-class parents, then you're not much for analyzing structural inequities in this country.

Again, you are appealing to emotions, and not addressing the core issues here. I repeat - why should DC permit MD kids to attend DC schools free of charge? Should the kids be permitted to stay in the schools? Shouldn't DC funds be directed toward DC residents, many of whom are in much more dire straits than the parents/kids described in the complaints?

Schools aren't operated or funded on a national basis, and it is not DC's responsibility, or in its interest, to try to address cross-jurisdictional "structural inequities." We already bear a disproportionate share of of responsibility for the homeless in the region; we're not taking on the education of suburban kids as well.

And how do you think prosecutorial decisions are made? Emotion, values. Don't be naive. I can both think that it's acceptable to try to limit DC schools to DC taxpayers, and that I don't approve of bringing the hammer down on poor moms whose crime is sending their kids to school.

Will you answer the three questions posed above? You don't have to, of course, but your answers would enable a more informed responses.

no, because I don't agree with the premise: that prosecuting this handful of parents is going to create some huge windfall surplus that will magically lift all the DC students up. No, the only impact will be to disproportionately hurt families that IMO didn't do anything all that wrong.

So should these parents serve jail time instead?

[Anonymous]

So many people in this thread are focused on the bus aide. Contrary to the post above, she didn't enroll her kid in Miner. If she had, I'd be more sympathetic. It's probably a nearly impossible task to find child care beginning early enough to enable you to work on buses picking up children before school.

But that's not what the complaint says. Her child was in Stuart-Hobson--a middle school. After the beginning of the school year, mom aide and child moved to Maryland, but the child remained at Stuart Hobson. The following academic year, the child remained at Stuart Hobson.

So, the odds are high that the second year the child was in 7th or 8th grade and 12 or 13 years old. My guess is the child simply didn't want to leave her friends behind, so mom didn't switch her. IMO, hat's not a very compelling reason.

In any event, when a child is in middle school, it's not about needing free or cheap childcare to be able to work at all. PG has middle schools. A quick google shows that those schools offer both before and after care. So, I think the Jean Valjean comparison is over the top.

[Anonymous]

People who get mail for students who don't live at your address - I would throw it in the mail to the AG's office!

[Anonymous]

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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.

So you did the right thing. So why would you defend people who are stealing?

You can have sympathy for people in need and still feel that it's wrong to steal.

Because people who have actually walked the walk are likely to be sympathetic to others, and not have your rigid sense that someone who is trying to get a good education for their kid is "stealing."

It is unquestionably stealing, their motives notwithstanding. And your attempt to portray all these people as modern day Jean Valjeans is absurd. They weren't starving, and had schools they could go to. Pulling on heartstrings indicates that you don't have a reasoned argument as to why MD kids should be permitted to attend DC schools, or why parents who willfully lie to cheat DC shouldn't be punished.

DC Pols literally gave away a public DC playing field to a private school. I'm definitely not getting exercised about moms sending their kids to DC schools.

Is that what you believe is a reasoned argument?

yes, I do. If you can't see the overarching unfairness of prosecuting poor/lower-class parents, then you're not much for analyzing structural inequities in this country.

Again, you are appealing to emotions, and not addressing the core issues here. I repeat - why should DC permit MD kids to attend DC schools free of charge? Should the kids be permitted to stay in the schools? Shouldn't DC funds be directed toward DC residents, many of whom are in much more dire straits than the parents/kids described in the complaints?

Schools aren't operated or funded on a national basis, and it is not DC's responsibility, or in its interest, to try to address cross-jurisdictional "structural inequities." We already bear a disproportionate share of of responsibility for the homeless in the region; we're not taking on the education of suburban kids as well.

And how do you think prosecutorial decisions are made? Emotion, values. Don't be naive. I can both think that it's acceptable to try to limit DC schools to DC taxpayers, and that I don't approve of bringing the hammer down on poor moms whose crime is sending their kids to school.

Will you answer the three questions posed above? You don't have to, of course, but your answers would enable a more informed responses.

no, because I don't agree with the premise: that prosecuting this handful of parents is going to create some huge windfall surplus that will magically lift all the DC students up. No, the only impact will be to disproportionately hurt families that IMO didn't do anything all that wrong.

Now you're being disingenuous. There's no such premise in those questions; they are independent of any prosecutions. They are:

Why should DC permit MD kids to attend DC schools free of charge?

Should the kids be permitted to stay in the schools?

Shouldn't DC funds be directed toward DC residents, many of whom are in much more dire straits than the parents/kids described in the complaints?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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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.

So you did the right thing. So why would you defend people who are stealing?

You can have sympathy for people in need and still feel that it's wrong to steal.

Because people who have actually walked the walk are likely to be sympathetic to others, and not have your rigid sense that someone who is trying to get a good education for their kid is "stealing."

It is unquestionably stealing, their motives notwithstanding. And your attempt to portray all these people as modern day Jean Valjeans is absurd. They weren't starving, and had schools they could go to. Pulling on heartstrings indicates that you don't have a reasoned argument as to why MD kids should be permitted to attend DC schools, or why parents who willfully lie to cheat DC shouldn't be punished.

DC Pols literally gave away a public DC playing field to a private school. I'm definitely not getting exercised about moms sending their kids to DC schools.

Is that what you believe is a reasoned argument?

yes, I do. If you can't see the overarching unfairness of prosecuting poor/lower-class parents, then you're not much for analyzing structural inequities in this country.

Following up on this, you seem to be focusing on the bus aid. But there are numerous others why aren't low SES parents. In particular, the couple who makes approximately $200,000/year. Would you be in favor of prosecuting them?