Fraud? Or evidence of the disparity of education?

[Jared Lash]

The interesting case of an Ohio mother who was tried and convicted for sending her daughters to a better school in a different district.

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/mom...tter-education

[Relic]

I was actually going to start a thread on this then figured two in one day is enough..

I'm torn on this one... I fully and wholeheartedly understand her doing anything to get her daughter's a good education, but she was deceptive and did in fact break the law, so.... I dunno.

[macaroni tony]

I read this story; totally blows my mind. I've known people who send their kids to a school in another district all my life; never seemed to be an issue. This is new to me

[RonGillman3]

Originally Posted by macaroni tony

I read this story; totally blows my mind. I've known people who send their kids to a school in another district all the time; never seemed to be an issue. This is new to me

+1

At least she is wanting a better education for her kid.

[Relic]

Originally Posted by macaroni tony

I read this story; totally blows my mind. I've known people who send their kids to a school in another district all the time; never seemed to be an issue. This is new to me

Honestly - I'd be lying if I told you that I had not thought about doing it myself...

[macaroni tony]

I understand that she broke the law, but why they chose to pursue and prosecute this woman is beyond me.

The school district spent about $6,000 to bring the case to trial. That included hiring a private investigator who followed Williams-Bolar and her children around while secretly videotaping their movements.

friggin WHY????

[RonGillman3]

The school district spent about $6,000 to bring the case to trial. That included hiring a private investigator who followed Williams-Bolar and her children around while secretly videotaping their movements.

Isn't that a little bit of overkill???

[Relic]

Originally Posted by macaroni tony

I understand that she broke the law, but why they chose to pursue and prosecute this woman is beyond me.



friggin WHY????

They're scared because it's a GOOD idea and if they don't make an example of her, others will follow suit.

I'm not defending the school district at all and, now that I read it more, I think this whole thing is nuts. But still, technically she did break the law so it's gonna be hard for her to fight this in any way.

[Hawaii Islander]

Even the judge in the case thought the charges were excessive, but the DA and the school district wouldn't accept a plea to lesser charges. I would say how I really feel toward the DA and School District Officials involved, but I want to continue as a TBer in good standing.

[Jared Lash]

This in some ways is like the story of the mother in Minnesota that was sued by the RIAA for millions for sharing a couple dozen songs on Kazaa or Limewire (I forget which). I agree that copyright infringement is wrong but to sue ONE woman for millions when millions of others do exactly the same thing is ludicrous.

Same deal here. This sort of thing happens all over the country but how often does a district spend thousands on a sting operation to catch someone using a relative's address to get their children in a better school?

Again, I'm not saying it's right, but this seems excessive and it's impossible to overlook the racial angle involved. Besides, it's hard for me to fault her. Who wouldn't want their kids in a neighboring school if it means a clearly better opportunity for education?

As someone who did a fair amount of subbing it's staggering how much difference there can be in schools that are only a few miles apart. Obviously it will never be the case, but public education should be one place where there isn't such a discrepancy between the haves and have nots.

[MIJ-VI]

Kids come first. In this case the law is an a$$ IMO.

[guitar ed]

I grew up in Palo Alto, CA. Across the tracks from East Palo Alto. Palo Alto had high taxes and great school. East Palo Alto did not. Many families sent their kids to PA schools, for good reasons. It got their kids a better education. But it also hurt the kids who lived in PA because their taxes were being spent on kids who lived outside the district.

So who is the villain here? The parents who lied to send their kids to better schools, but don't contribute a dime to their educations? Or the people who choose to pay higher taxes to educate their kids, and bar kids whose families don't pay taxes for those schools?

BTW: This is where school vouchers would of great benefit.

edg

[Hawaii Islander]

Originally Posted by guitar ed

I grew up in Palo Alto, CA. Across the tracks from East Palo Alto. Palo Alto had high taxes and great school. East Palo Alto did not. Many families sent their kids to PA schools, for good reasons. It got their kids a better education. But it also hurt the kids who lived in PA because their taxes were being spent on kids who lived outside the district.

So who is the villain here? The parents who lied to send their kids to better schools, but don't contribute a dime to their educations? Or the people who choose to pay higher taxes to educate their kids, and bar kids whose families don't pay taxes for those schools?

BTW: This is where school vouchers would of great benefit.

edg

The article specified that school vouchers would not work in this instance because the school district was a "closed district".

Also, the father of the woman lives in the school district in question and his residency pays property taxes either directly or indirectly. Directly if he owns his own home or by the property owner if his place of residency is a rental unit.

[MIJ-VI]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

The interesting case of an Ohio mother who was tried and convicted for sending her daughters to a better school in a different district.

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/mom...tter-education

A PETITION

Gov. Kasich: Pardon Ms. Kelley Williams-Bolar's Unfair Sentencing For Fraud and Theft

Greetings,

I desire and support a full pardon of Ms. Kelley Williams-Bolar's unfairly severe sentencing resulting from sending her children to a school system outside of her district. Ms. Williams, a single mother with no prior criminal record, has been made a felon by Judge Patricia Cosgrove and the Summit County jury which convicted her.

In addition to jail time, a fine and probation, Ms. Williams-Bolar's felony conviction will prevent her from using the education she had been receiving in order to become a public school teacher. She has been robbed of the opportunity to elevate her life and the lives of her family through her own intelligence and hard work- the alleged "American Dream." Judge Cosgrove has essentially handed Ms. Williams-Bolar a life sentence for attempting to protect her children in ways that her government and community have failed to do. Considering the overwhelming economic troubles affecting so many US citizens, loving, hard working single mothers like Williams-Bolar are not the enemy our court system should be making examples of in this way.

The sentence handed down by Judge Cosgrove is ridiculously severe and overwhelmingly inappropriate. According to Ed Holland, superintendent of Cuyahoga Falls schools, fraud of this sort is committed by "three or four families a year" in his district, and those disputes are resolved without filing appalling criminal lawsuits like this one. Kelley Williams-Bolar's punishment in no way appropriately fits her crime, and I urge you to issue her a full pardon.

http://www.change.org/petitions/view...cting_her_kids

GOAL: 50,000 Signatures (Over 55,000 so far).

Signed. EDIT:

This petition sends letters to an individual's specific elected officials based on their address. You must live in the U.S. to sign this petition.

[Hawaii Islander]

Originally Posted by MIJ-VI

A PETITION


http://www.change.org/petitions/view...cting_her_kids

GOAL: 50,000 Signatures (Over 55,000 so far).

Signed. EDIT:

Signed

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by guitar ed

I grew up in Palo Alto, CA. Across the tracks from East Palo Alto. Palo Alto had high taxes and great school. East Palo Alto did not. Many families sent their kids to PA schools, for good reasons. It got their kids a better education. But it also hurt the kids who lived in PA because their taxes were being spent on kids who lived outside the district.

So who is the villain here? The parents who lied to send their kids to better schools, but don't contribute a dime to their educations? Or the people who choose to pay higher taxes to educate their kids, and bar kids whose families don't pay taxes for those schools?

BTW: This is where school vouchers would of great benefit.

edg

Excellent point.

As much as I want to feel sympathy for the woman, I have none to give. She broke the law. End of story. You have the right to choose where you want to live. You can choose to live in a good school district, or you can choose to live in a poor one. Schools that are considered good are often that way because the local residents pay higher taxes for them to get better teachers, books, computer labs, etc... People who don't contribute towards making a school a "good one" aren't deserving of sending their kid to one. It's not fair to the people who do everything right and play by the rules. It's cheating and stealing from the families who contribute larger tax amounts towards education.

I realize this won't be a popular opinion by a long shot, but this kind of stuff really, really irks me to no end.

*edit* I will admit that she shouldn't be sentences so harshly, but she should be punished.

[Hawaii Islander]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

Excellent point.

As much as I want to feel sympathy for the woman, I have none to give. She broke the law. End of story. You have the right to choose where you want to live. You can choose to live in a good school district, or you can choose to live in a poor one. Schools that are considered good are often that way because the local residents pay higher taxes for them to get better teachers, books, computer labs, etc... People who don't contribute towards making a school a "good one" aren't deserving of sending their kid to one. It's not fair to the people who do everything right and play by the rules. It's cheating and stealing from the families who contribute larger tax amounts towards education.

I realize this won't be a popular opinion by a long shot, but this kind of stuff really, really irks me to no end.

*edit* I will admit that she shouldn't be sentences so harshly, but she should be punished.

Her dad lives in the district and, as such, property taxes are paid to the school district by his residing there.

[sandmangeck]

+1 on jmattbassplaya. The kids had to have done something to get the attention of the uppers at the school. They sent out a pi for christs sake.

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by Hawaii Islander

Her dad lives in the district and, as such, property taxes are paid to the school district by his residing there.

I should of been more clear - my post was more of a general statement about these kinds of goings on than about her situation in particular. This kind of thing happens in Memphis school districts A LOT and has been a large reason why the county schools have been wanting to annex from Memphis city.

[MIJ-VI]

Originally Posted by Hawaii Islander

Signed