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Tuesday, May 29, 2007
What should Henry do about out-of-district students?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A news story from the north side that appeared in the AJC last weekend addressed an issue that is relevant here in Henry County, although the amount of publicity it receives is not what it was a few years ago.
A Marietta woman was acquitted last week of criminal charges stemming from her children’s attendance in a school district where she apparently was not a resident. According to the story, she faced 16 felony counts for allegedly lying to get her kids in school. The city wanted her to either live in the city or pay for the education her family received.
Making false statements on government documents, such as those one must sign to declare residency in Henry County to send your kids to county schools, is a felony. A lot of people do it across the state, but not a lot is done about it.
A published report last fall stated that two such cases here resulted in convictions over a two-year period, both after fairly long journeys through the court system. One case originated in 2004 and was resolved in May 2006.
It is not uncommon for a few hundred suspicious cases to be reported to the school system in a given year, and as many as 40 families have withdrawn their children in a semester as a result of the investigations. School officials have beefed up enforcement, using four investigators, and they have tightened the guidelines as far as what documents are acceptable when proving residency.
Still, it’s a huge job. It doesn’t seem practical to take every violator to court (although in principle it sounds right), but there must be a way to at least recoup some of the expense of educating out-of-county students through fines and other fees.
As a home owner and taxpayer, I’m very concerned about this. But since I don’t have children in local public schools, I’m not around the system on a day-to-day basis like many of you are. I’m curious about what local public school parents think about this issue. How bad is this problem? Is it being addressed properly? What else should be done? Are the families who withdraw after they’re busted paying any restitution to the school system?
It’s worth thinking about, folks. After all, it’s our money.
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