Anonymous wrote:OP --- people are jumping on you way too hard. That's DCUM, unfortunately.

I think you asked a valid question... you are buying a home and it wouldn't actually cost the county any more than it does for your child to go to your zoned school... it's just a differnt location.

When you say "mediocre" -- another way of saying that with a less negative connotation is that the overall composite of student test scores is right in the middle of all Va. students' scores. That isn't necessarily bad. What are the test scores for kids in your demographic (race, economic grp)? Maybe the kids in your demographic are passing the tests at the same level as the kids in the "great" school next door. Maybe you just have a wider variety of accomplishment (which is not the same as saying you have mediocre teaching) at that school.
You could still look into the dashboard and see if that school is open for transfer. No harm there. If not, then I think you're doing the right thing to try your local school.... who knows... you might find it's a fit even with more varied test scores.

This is so true! Great advice PP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just switch houses with the grandparents. Problem solved.

Our house is a 6000 sf new home. We were planning to buy my parents a ranch house in the 400-500k range.

And I live in a 3000 sf home built in 1930 specifically for the choice public elementary school. I could move a 1/2 mile away and be in a different zone and save $250k. All of us are in the same situation, but it appears not all of us are honest. We have an anonymous tip line at our school for this thing. We also have an employee that is full-time in charge of residency issues and investigations.

DH and I spoke about it and we are going to stick to our mediocre elementary school. Hopefully our child will get into AAP in 3rd grade.

If kindergarten turns out to be a complete disaster, we will put him in private or look into moving.

People seem to be focused on our house size. I stated that I want to do this totally legally and that I did not want to hide where we lived if we were granted the transfer/pupil placement. I wanted to knw how easy or difficult it was to do this legally.

OP--I really hope you can reserve your judgment about the school until you're actually there. Your kid will pick up on your attitude of "biding your time." You want her feeling good about the place where she'll be spending 7 hours a day.

OP --- people are jumping on you way too hard. That's DCUM, unfortunately.

I think you asked a valid question... you are buying a home and it wouldn't actually cost the county any more than it does for your child to go to your zoned school... it's just a differnt location.

When you say "mediocre" -- another way of saying that with a less negative connotation is that the overall composite of student test scores is right in the middle of all Va. students' scores. That isn't necessarily bad. What are the test scores for kids in your demographic (race, economic grp)? Maybe the kids in your demographic are passing the tests at the same level as the kids in the "great" school next door. Maybe you just have a wider variety of accomplishment (which is not the same as saying you have mediocre teaching) at that school.

You could still look into the dashboard and see if that school is open for transfer. No harm there. If not, then I think you're doing the right thing to try your local school.... who knows... you might find it's a fit even with more varied test scores.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just switch houses with the grandparents. Problem solved.

Our house is a 6000 sf new home. We were planning to buy my parents a ranch house in the 400-500k range.

And I live in a 3000 sf home built in 1930 specifically for the choice public elementary school. I could move a 1/2 mile away and be in a different zone and save $250k. All of us are in the same situation, but it appears not all of us are honest. We have an anonymous tip line at our school for this thing. We also have an employee that is full-time in charge of residency issues and investigations.

DH and I spoke about it and we are going to stick to our mediocre elementary school. Hopefully our child will get into AAP in 3rd grade.

If kindergarten turns out to be a complete disaster, we will put him in private or look into moving.

People seem to be focused on our house size. I stated that I want to do this totally legally and that I did not want to hide where we lived if we were granted the transfer/pupil placement. I wanted to knw how easy or difficult it was to do this legally.

Curious where you live with a newer 6000 sq ft house in Fairfax and a mediocre school?

I think it would just be nicer to live near your parents. Luckily those houses are cheaper. It would be worse if it were the other way around and the houses at the better school were more expensive which is what usually happens.

I am living in old small rambler 1950's because it was in good school district and could have had a lot more house in the other areas with less desirable schools . We are all in the same boat with these sacrifices. It is illegal. I would not do this ... parents know the zip codes and the street address dividing lines for school boundaries.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just switch houses with the grandparents. Problem solved.

Our house is a 6000 sf new home. We were planning to buy my parents a ranch house in the 400-500k range.

And I live in a 3000 sf home built in 1930 specifically for the choice public elementary school. I could move a 1/2 mile away and be in a different zone and save $250k. All of us are in the same situation, but it appears not all of us are honest. We have an anonymous tip line at our school for this thing. We also have an employee that is full-time in charge of residency issues and investigations.

They define 'residency' as where the child sleeps at night.

Custody agreements 50-50 are iffy.

We own a house in the District but don't live in it. I could not technically send my kids to the school its zoned for.

It is not legal. We are at an APS school that has booted several for next year due to this type of situation. Some are relatives homes, some are complete lies, etc.

There was a famous case recently (somewhere north of here) where the mother was charged with Fraud for sending her kid to the school the grandparents were zoned for. It was the exact situation you describe. Google.

^^ This.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just switch houses with the grandparents. Problem solved.

Our house is a 6000 sf new home. We were planning to buy my parents a ranch house in the 400-500k range.

So you want to be able to eat your cake and keep it too. If you want your child to go to a "higher ranked school" you buy a smaller house in that district like everyone else.

When we went house hunting, we had a baby. We thought we would do private school or just move by the time the kids started elementary school. The time has now come but the wrench is my parents' financial situation. We cannot afford to send our kids to private school AND pay for my parents' living expenses (estimating would be about 4k per month). My mother had and fought cancer but is now retired with no money. Thanks for judging though.

Buy a house in the targeted school district and build an addition to accommodate your parents. You will have on-site child care and will not have to deal with two homes.

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, we have friends who moved to Loudoun County, and are renting out their Fairfax County townhome. Their kids continue to attend the FCPS school that their rented townhome is zoned to. I always thought that cannot be done, but they are doing it. According to them, since they own the home and are paying taxes on it, FCPS legally allows them to send their kids to that school. They have to provide their own transportation of course, but since they drive by the school on their way to work, it works for them.

Do they live in South RIding? We went to a birthday party for a child in my dd's FCPS class and the parents said they lived in South Riding and "other relatives" lived in their townhouse next to the school.

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, we have friends who moved to Loudoun County, and are renting out their Fairfax County townhome. Their kids continue to attend the FCPS school that their rented townhome is zoned to. I always thought that cannot be done, but they are doing it. According to them, since they own the home and are paying taxes on it, FCPS legally allows them to send their kids to that school. They have to provide their own transportation of course, but since they drive by the school on their way to work, it works for them.

Agree with PP. This is absolutely not legal, and for them to say so is a lie. Here is Regulation 2202. Unless this family meets one of these requirements, they need to be paying tuition. There is NOTHING here about owning a second home and paying taxes.

III. NONTUITION-PAYING STUDENT
A person of school age (i.e., a person who will have reached his or her fifth birthday on or
before September 30 of the school year and who has not reached 20* years of age on or
before August 1 of the school year) is eligible for admission on a nontuition basis if
residing in Fairfax County. A person of school age shall be deemed to reside in Fairfax
County when such person meets one of the following criteria:

A. Is living with a natural parent or parent by legal adoption who actually resides in
Fairfax County.

B. Is living with an individual who is defined as a parent in Section 22.1-1 of the Code of
Virginia, not solely for school purposes, pursuant to a special power of attorney
executed under Title 10, United States Code, Section 1044b, by the custodial parent
while such custodial parent is deployed outside the United States as a member of
the Virginia National Guard or as a member of the United States Armed Forces.

C. Is living with a person in loco parentis who actually resides in Fairfax County and the
parents of such student are deceased.

D. Is a resident of a military or naval reservation located wholly or partly within Fairfax
County and is a domiciled resident of the commonwealth of Virginia, or if not a
domiciled resident of the commonwealth of Virginia, is a student for whom federal
funds provided under Public Law 874 of 1950 constitute 50 percent or more of the
total per capita cost of education in FCPS exclusive of capital outlay and debt
service.

* Notwithstanding the above, Fairfax County residents who have not reached 22 years of age on
or before August 1 of the school year are eligible for admission on a nontuition basis if they are
students for whom English is a second language and who first entered school in Virginia after
reaching the 12th birthday. Fairfax County residents receiving special education services who
have not graduated with a standard or advanced studies high school diploma are eligible for
admission on a nontuition basis if they have not reached 22 years of age on or before
September 30 of the school year.



E. Is a resident of federal property in the District of Columbia who was enrolled as a
domiciled resident of Fairfax County in FCPS but whose parents were subsequently
required, as a result of military or federal orders, to relocate and reside on federal
property in the District of Columbia.

F. Reaches the age of 18 and actually resides in Fairfax County, or becomes a
registered voter in Fairfax County and actually resides in Fairfax County.

G. Resides in Fairfax County, not solely for school purposes, as an emancipated minor.

H. Becomes a resident in another jurisdiction within 60 calendar days of the end of the
school year, but requests to continue attending his or her previously assigned school
on a nontuition basis until completion of the school year, subject to the condition that
transportation will not be provided by the school system.

I. Resides in Fairfax County with no intent of changing residency to that of his or her
parents, and meets all of the following conditions:

1. The resident with whom the student is living is either (i) the court-appointed
guardian or has legal custody of the student or (ii) acting in loco parentis
pursuant to placement of the student for adoption by a person or entity
authorized to do so under Section 63.2-1200 of the Code of Virginia.

2. The student is not living with the nonparents for the sole purpose of obtaining
Fairfax County school privileges as determined by the Division
Superintendent after full review of all related evidence.

3. The student's parents are unable to care for the student. Independent
documentation must be provided regarding family circumstances, such as
severe medical condition, incarceration, child abuse, or extreme
estrangement between parents and children.

A student may be permitted to attend school for a limited time, pending a court
hearing, with evidence of a petition having been filed with the court, and having
satisfied all other documentary provisions of this policy.

J. As outlined in the current version of Regulation 2205, Enrollment of Homeless
Students, is a student lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence,
and the primary nighttime residence is located within the school division or on
property located in multiple jurisdictions. A student attending FCPS who becomes
homeless and moves into temporary housing outside Fairfax County is eligible to
remain in his or her current school on a nontuition basis until permanent housing is
established.

K. Is an over school-age person residing in Fairfax County and enrolled in day and/or
evening adult education classes primarily for the purpose of completing high school.

The burden of establishing and/or providing proof of the student’s residence is the
responsibility of the parent or guardian. Bona fide residence is one’s actual residence,
maintained in good faith, and does not include superficial residence established for the
purpose of free school attendance. If it is determined that a student has fraudulently
enrolled in FCPS, the student shall be withdrawn, and the parent or guardian shall be
liable for tuition for the entire time of fraudulent enrollment.

Agree they're trying to "nicely" game the system. We all have extenuating circumstances, so there has to be end all rules so society can function. Agree your situation is tough, but so is mine. That's life. And I don't think the school system should budge. The wiggle room to make it work should come from you. Accept your IB school or move to the other district.

Agree. Sell the big house & move.

Really, those $400-500K ranch houses are the ideal size for a family of 3.