School residency cheaters investigated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dear ms. Watson,

You're not a crusader. You are a self-aggrandizement small person harassing children. Really? You're shocked that many parents were upset that you stalked them? I'm shocked that you have the balls to even basically say that what you really want is for Ludlow Taylor to get white enough for your kids to go there.

God help your kids.

She used to work for Watchdog.org, a function of the right-wing Franklin Center.

She's part of this crop of conservatives who try to play at journalism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:this is off topic, but what's funny to me is how quickly DCUM falls into typical misogyny. There are two authors listed for the story - Someone named Luke and someone named Katie.

On the Daily Caller website, Luke is listed as the "first author." For question for comments, the article suggests contacting Luke.

And yet, here on DCUM, people who are calling out the investigative reporters are EXCLUSIVELY directing their ire at Ms. Watson.

When all else fails, attack the messager, and if that messager is a woman, so much the better. Ridiculous.

Whatever you may think of the Daily Caller (and I don't think much of it - it's the site started by Tucker Carlson), these people are reporters, they are investigative reporters, and where they live and whether or not they have children is completely irrelevant to the story they are investigating.

I just assumed ms Watson is our own obsessive residency cheating mom. Maybe it's Mr Taylor, but I thought her vitriol, and the picture of her Halloween costume, had a pretty feminine vibe. Are my accusations entirely based on assumptions and hyperbole? Totally-- but I don't think the "investigative journalism" done by the good people at the daily caller can really complain.

what makes you think there is a single, female DCUM poster concerned about residency fraud? there is more than one. I don't care to chase down and inform on my kid's classmates. But I would be pissed and consider reporting if I found out that a well off parent were engaging in boundary fraud by buying or renting an apt they don't live in.

Different poster here. I'm DINK DC taxpayer. I care VERY much about residency cheating, as I (i) want my neighbors to be able to get their kid into the local pre-K around the corner, (ii) want to preserve access to that school for myself, in case we have a child, and (iii) I don't want millions of my tax dollars spent on kids from outside this jurisdiction while their parents enjoy a nicer house and lower taxes in another state.

It's not rocket science as to why even childless District residents have a stake in this scandal.

Also, the principals have zero incentive to identify these kids - their individual school funding is highly dependent on head count, especially FARMS kids who come with higher levels of funding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not OP but I don't see why parents who are approached by reporters can't honestly answer basic questions about their residency. And if people are making excuses (like the L-T principal and the poster on here who keeps defending residency cheaters) that explain away why they have MD license plates, why fault the investigators who followed these tax cheaters home?

I'm a DC resident (with DC plates), but I'm going to side with the parents here. If a strange person pulled up to me while I had my kids with me and wanted to know where I lived, I'd be a bit angry too. I'm sure these "reporters" didn't have any press credentials as this a more of a blog, then USAToday or WaPo.

I'm all for taking this information and investigating (as I do not want MD residents in our schools) but I think the way it was handled is gross.

Agreed. Let some stranger roll up to my kids and I, taking pictures and demanding my residence info?

As a DC parent, I have reported a few MD license plates when I can get a name of a parent who speeds past us, almost hits my kids and me in the cross walk to pull up in front of a school and then curse out the security guard when he tells them they are driving too fast. Unrelated to my reporting, there have been 3 kids who left my kids' classes due to not living in D.C. But given the divorce rate and custody issues between other parents and grandparents, the lines are not so bright.

But I wonder if a parent with weekend custody in D.C. can enroll a kid in D.C.?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any of you who insist that our country should have open borders better not be the same people who are complaining about PG County residents illegally taking their kids to DC schools for a better education.

As long as their housekeeper and nannys' kids are competing for the same spot in school. Oh wait, they couldn't be that crafty, could they?

Haha!

[Anonymous]

Good for them for tackling this issue. I've been wondering for a long time why the hell the Post hasn't done a real investigation. As someone who lives near a school that has 10,000 MD plates outside of it at drop off, I'm glad this is finally getting addressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good for them for tackling this issue. I've been wondering for a long time why the hell the Post hasn't done a real investigation. As someone who lives near a school that has 10,000 MD plates outside of it at drop off, I'm glad this is finally getting addressed.

+1

This was a pretty messy and sensationalist way to tackle it, but I'm glad someone is calling for accountability! I live near Ludlow Taylor and the number of Maryland kids is an open secret.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The article -- with an approach that may seem extreme -- shows that the many, many of the kids in question are not in delicate family situations.

The problem never gets addressed because everyone fears, understandably, doing harm to kids in vulnerable situations.

But that fear is what allows a huge amount of exploitation -- which is what the article is trying to show by its "icky stalking" of two-parent families.

At what point is the abuse bad enough that some action has to be taken despite the risks of needlessly investigating a valid situation?

I think this is really on point. Many of us knew about the fraud, but worried the kids were in need - so we didn't speak up. Now this "article" (and I use that term loosely) is making me (and maybe others) wonder if it is just a lot of people taking advantage of the system.

same w/ welfare

And you know very little about programs like SNAP and TANF.

And you know very little about social security disability and 'crazy' checks.

SSDI is not "welfare" and harder to collect than you think. But I'm sure Fox News or Ted Cruz told you otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The article -- with an approach that may seem extreme -- shows that the many, many of the kids in question are not in delicate family situations.

The problem never gets addressed because everyone fears, understandably, doing harm to kids in vulnerable situations.

But that fear is what allows a huge amount of exploitation -- which is what the article is trying to show by its "icky stalking" of two-parent families.

At what point is the abuse bad enough that some action has to be taken despite the risks of needlessly investigating a valid situation?

I think this is really on point. Many of us knew about the fraud, but worried the kids were in need - so we didn't speak up. Now this "article" (and I use that term loosely) is making me (and maybe others) wonder if it is just a lot of people taking advantage of the system.

same w/ welfare

And you know very little about programs like SNAP and TANF.

No, actually This American Life and Planet Money.

But we digress. The point is that programs that give things away for free are subject to abuse. The question for all the programs is at little abuse or a lot. If a lot, the program needs change.

And you know very little about social security disability and 'crazy' checks.

SSDI is not "welfare" and harder to collect than you think. But I'm sure Fox News or Ted Cruz told you otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Im so glad to see someone looking into this. I hope DC council has no choice but to address it. The Post should be ashamed of itself for not looking into these ugly truths in a real and meaningful way where the cheaters cant just wriggle their way out of it.

Seems like sensationalist and creepy methods are working well. If she had done any less, you would have been saying maybe joint custody or the parents were going to their home in DC and just didn't update their car registration. If she gets proof its creepy (and therefore somehow invalid) and if she doesn't they get off the scot-free? The people on this boards who defend the cheaters seem to change tactics every two seconds, first they say you cant know the situation and then when the situation is proven by a reporter (doing dc's job for them) you turn around and say its sensationalist and creepy or we cant look into it because it involves kids. This is why this kind of fraud perpetuates!!

This is how thorough investigations work, folks, and is all pretty standard when it comes to investigative reporting. Seems like its the fraud we should be looking into most since it takes away from actual deserving kids, a vulnerable poputlation, but some people on these boards would rather worry more about whether the experience was pleasant for cheaters who are breaking the law. The truth ain't pretty! If youre being honest, you dont need to yell at someone asking questions, you answer them and walk away.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I do believe there is residency fraud. However, I believe this reporter out right lied in this article. How many people would stop and share their family situations with a stranger? Would any of you? And he states that he pulled tax records among other things to determine their lack of residency. Who gave them the names to pull? How many people would share their names with a stranger standing on the street asking questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not OP but I don't see why parents who are approached by reporters can't honestly answer basic questions about their residency. And if people are making excuses (like the L-T principal and the poster on here who keeps defending residency cheaters) that explain away why they have MD license plates, why fault the investigators who followed these tax cheaters home?

It's none of their business. I'm sure I've lived in DC longer than you, and if a stranger walked up to me asking my personal information, I would not be as stupid and as naïve as you appear to sound and tender over personal information.

[Anonymous]

If you take all the MD kids out of the schools, KIPP on P street will be empty! That is basically 99% of their student population!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not OP but I don't see why parents who are approached by reporters can't honestly answer basic questions about their residency. And if people are making excuses (like the L-T principal and the poster on here who keeps defending residency cheaters) that explain away why they have MD license plates, why fault the investigators who followed these tax cheaters home?

It's none of their business. I'm sure I've lived in DC longer than you, and if a stranger walked up to me asking my personal information, I would not be as stupid and as naïve as you appear to sound and tender over personal information.

+1

Who in the hell is just going to give to some stranger their home address? What backwoods town are you people from?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I do believe there is residency fraud. However, I believe this reporter out right lied in this article. How many people would stop and share their family situations with a stranger? Would any of you? And he states that he pulled tax records among other things to determine their lack of residency. Who gave them the names to pull? How many people would share their names with a stranger standing on the street asking questions.

You don't need a name if you have an address.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am extremely skeptical about the quality and motivation of Daily Caller investigative reporting, but I have to say, it does sound like a pretty severe problem and like they did actual (appropriate) reporting. It's not "stalking". But I'm not sure about the quality of the reporting. For example, how they describe L-T as

"in a mostly white neighborhood along a commuter route that runs from Prince George’s County to federal buildings downtown.

The school is almost entirely black and government statistics indicate that few of the students live in the neighborhood. Poor test scores have left neighborhood parents feeling they can’t use their own school, and must pay for private education or enroll their children in a more distant public school."

I don't think that accurately represents the L-T demographics, the current reputation of L-T, or the legitimate OOB system. It also seems to be trying to drive a pretty ugly racial/class wedge.

What's the commuter route from MD to L-T? The neighborhood demographics of L-T is not predominantly white. What am I missing in this awful reporting. There are so many lies or misinformation, such as in-state tuition to any state school, one has to wonder what the blogger got right.