Jailed for Stealing Education

[mountaingal]

Re: A Rosa Parks Moment for Education

you know blackstar, that bit u quoted would be seen as socialistic by many americans - the idea that you dont mind if your taxes go to help others who many not have contributed.

this is a sad case for the mother. i totally understand her motivation, and its a damn shame that this has been the outcome. i hope her children at least did well at the outside school.

[Blackstar*]

Re: A Rosa Parks Moment for Education

NPR interviewed BRIAN POE, Superintendent, Copley-Fairlawn School District:

MICHEL MARTIN: Now, I understand that your schools are not just noted for their academic excellence. In fact, they're called excellent with distinction, according to the Ohio Department of Education. But the district's also been noted for its aggressive residency enforcement, which reportedly includes private investigators checking on parents' living arrangements and that families can earn $100 if they turn people in who don't live in the district. Is that all true and how did that start?

Mr. POE: Yes. And we've had approximately 48 residency cases since 2005 over the past 5 years. So, approximately 9 per year. In Ohio, you need to go to the school district where you reside. In our district, we do not have open enrollment. Many school districts do not. And since we do not have open enrollment, you actually need to reside within our district boundaries to attend school here.

MS. MARTIN: Do you mind if I ask you, though, what percentage of the cases, of the 48 cases overall were of different - involved people of different demographic background?

Mr. POE: Oh, not at all. You have approximately 29 African American families, 15 white families, 3 Asian families.


Source

[twiney]

Re: A Rosa Parks Moment for Education

29 - 60%

Ppl are paid to inform, private investigators are paid About 9 per year ... maybe some property owners should start asking for their taxes to go to a school where the funds will actually be used for education.

[Blackstar*]

Re: A Rosa Parks Moment for Education

Yes, indeed - <span style="font-weight: bold">60%</span>. Every black person in the US should be up in arms over this back-door &quot;separate but equal&quot; business that is going on.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Twiney</div><div class="ubbcode-body">29 - 60%

Ppl are paid to inform, private investigators are paid About 9 per year ... maybe some property owners should start asking for their taxes to go to a school where the funds will actually be used for education. </div></div>
Don't forget the court and legal fees on top.

[Skelly]

Re: A Rosa Parks Moment for Education

agreed....but the woman could have gone about sending her kids there another way..i know of families who will sign over guardianship to the family member living in the district...the child is a ward of that adult and automatically a resident of that town...i wonder what she will do from here on...she could still go that route instead of disrupting her kids education.

[Gen]

Re: A Rosa Parks Moment for Education

That's what mi was saying too-why she never just arrange fi di grandfather tek them even live there during the week only

mi will sacrifice and do anything for my childs education but mi nah risk jail

[Blackstar*]

Re: A Rosa Parks Moment for Education

I thought about that too, Skelly &amp; Gen. It could be the grandfather is ill or something which would make him not so credible as a guardian. For what it's worth apparently he is also being prosecuted in a separate trial from his daughter, i.e. more expense for the state.

[MarieK]

Re: A Rosa Parks Moment for Education

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Skelly</div><div class="ubbcode-body">agreed....but the woman could have gone about sending her kids there another way..i know of families who will sign over guardianship to the family member living in the district...the child is a ward of that adult and automatically a resident of that town...i wonder what she will do from here on...she could still go that route instead of disrupting her kids education. </div></div>

she is on public asssitance which means she can get to live in the projects because of the kids if she signs them over to her dad she loses her home. So for her the decision was a roof over my kids heads or a good education she was trying to get them a good education while providing some sense of normalcy.

[MarieK]

Re: A Rosa Parks Moment for Education

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BlackStar</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> i.e. more expense for the state. </div></div>

but if they don't create these expenses how will the state justify the salaries of D.As. and construction of prisons and guards

[Blackstar*]

Re: A Rosa Parks Moment for Education

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Marie_K</div><div class="ubbcode-body">she is on public asssitance which means she can get to live in the projects because of the kids if she signs them over to her dad she loses her home. So for her the decision was a roof over my kids heads or a good education she was trying to get them a good education while providing some sense of normalcy. </div></div>
Good point, Marie_K.

I should look for an update to this story to see what's going on.

[Blackstar*]

Re: Jailed for Stealing Education

As expected, some would use this as a reason to push vouchers and other foolishness.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'"><span style="font-size: 14pt">Activists ask governor to pardon Akron mom Kelly Williams-Bolar</span>
School residency case brings inequity queries</span>

By Associated Press

Published on Tuesday, Feb 08, 2011

COLUMBUS: A coalition of activist groups delivered 165,000 signatures collected from around the country to the governor on Monday, urging him to pardon the Akron mother convicted on felony charges in a school district-switching case.

The groups seeking Gov. John Kasich's pardon for 40-year-old Kelley Williams-Bolar are ColorOfChange.org, Change.org and Moms-Rising.org. Iris Roley, a member of ColorofChange.org and chairwoman of the Cincinnati NAACP, said the groups believe the case highlights inequities in Ohio's education system.

''Kelley's story captured the nation's imagination because it strikes at the heart of a sentiment we all hold,'' Roley said. ''Who among us, in similar circumstances, wouldn't make the same choice to do right by our children? How many of us don't know someone who's done something similar for their children?''

The groups focused on the fact that Williams-Bolar used her father's address to enroll her daughters in the suburban Copley-Fairlawn district from 2006 to 2008.

However, the felony for which Williams-Bolar recently spent nine days in jail related to falsification of government documents, including school lunch records. She was found guilty by a jury.

''It's a very complex case that went on for an over two-year period of time. By the time she was indicted, it was three years,'' said Laurie Cramer, a spokeswoman for Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh. ''Certainly, she could have changed courses at any given time to not be charged with a felony.''

Cramer pointed to the fact that 47 other families have also been charged with residency violations by Copley-Fairlawn schools since 2005, yet Williams-Bolar was the only one convicted of a felony.

Roley said the felony conviction is disproportionate to Williams-Bolar's offenses — and it is preventing her from getting her teaching certificate from the state.

''We want justice for Kelley
Williams-Bolar, and we also want every parent to be able to send their children to safe, excellent schools without risking prosecution and imprisonment,'' she said. ''This isn't too much to ask for.''

The petition, signed by an unspecified number of Ohioans, as well as residents of other states, refers to Williams-Bolar receiving ''a draconian sentence'' for ''simply trying to send her kids to a good school.''

A message for comment left Monday with Kasich's spokesman was not returned.

Amid a recent controversy over the lack of racial diversity on his Cabinet, Kasich signaled his support for the cause of Williams-Bolar, who is black.

Kasich said his legal team was reviewing the case and that he has talked to the prosecutor and the school district involved.

''This woman's trying — from everything I've read — trying to improve herself, trying to help her children,'' he said last week. He said he wanted to understand the details before deciding whether to take any action.

Kasich, who took office last month, has used the case to highlight his support for expanded access to educational alternatives, including charter schools and vouchers.

''I'm a very big believer in public education, in our traditional school,'' he said at the event. ''But I'm also a believer in empowering people to be able to — it's their children — to put their children where they think they're going to get a better education, have a better future, and be safer.''

Source

[Blackstar*]

Re: A Rosa Parks Moment for Education

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Marie_K</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BlackStar</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> i.e. more expense for the state. </div></div>

<span style="font-style: italic">but if they don't create these expenses how will the state justify the salaries of D.As. and construction of prisons and guards </span>

</div></div>
Criminalizing non-criminals is big business in the US. Roads and other infrastructure could build instead AND create jobs.

[Blackstar*]

Re: A Rosa Parks Moment for Education

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'"><span style="font-size: 14pt">Ohio woman: Remorseful for school residency lies</span></span>
BY ANN SANNER, ASSOCIATED PRESS

An Ohio woman jailed after using her father's address to enroll her children in a neighboring school district told the state parole board on Wednesday that she's remorseful for lying and would do things differently if given the chance.

Kelley Williams-Bolar of Akron served nine days in jail for falsifying information on records that were used to send her daughters to a suburban school outside their urban district. She says her conviction for felony records tampering threatens her efforts to earn a teacher's license.

&quot;I love my kids and I would have done anything for my children,&quot; said Williams-Bolar, who at times got emotional before the Ohio Parole Board.

Prosecutors have defended the felony charges, saying Williams-Bolar willingly broke the law by using her father's address and misrepresenting other information on school documents for the nearby Copley-Fairlawn district. Officials there challenged her girls' residency in 2007, when they were 9 and 13 years old, and they later went back to the Akron schools.

Gov. John Kasich requested the clemency hearing before the parole board, which will recommend whether he should pardon her. Kasich has the final say.

The case drew national attention as a high-profile example of schools getting tougher on parents who improperly send their children to other districts, usually better-funded and higher-performing schools. Some people were outraged by Williams-Bolar's dishonesty, and others believed her prosecution and punishment were too severe.

Kasich has used the case to highlight expanded access to educational alternatives, including vouchers, and it became a rallying point for advocates of school choice.

Williams-Bolar, a single mother, said safety was her main concern when she enrolled her daughters in the Copley-Fairlawn district. She said she was worried about leaving her daughters alone because someone had broken into her home.

The district does not have open enrollment, meaning students either must be residents or pay tuition to attend.

David Singleton, an attorney for Williams-Bolar, acknowledged that his client has made mistakes, including writing on a bill from the school that she was deployed overseas. She is not in the military, he said.

&quot;I should have never wrote that,&quot; Williams-Bolar said. &quot;That was horrible. That was wrong.&quot;

An attorney for Williams-Bolar has previously raised the issue of whether she had been improperly targeted because Williams-Bolar is black. The superintendent of the district has said it was enforcing its enrollment policy and that since 2005, Copley-Fairlawn resolved conflicts with at least 47 other families over illegal student attendance but was unable to reach a resolution with Williams-Bolar and was forced to turn the case over to prosecutors.

Singleton has said he doesn't think race was a factor in her arrest, but believes it was driven by her inability to reimburse the district -- something that wealthier families could do quietly and put the matter behind them, while she ended up with a felony conviction.

Asked directly by a board member whether she thought she was treated unfairly because of her race, Williams-Bolar said, &quot;I cannot answer that. I just know that my situation happened for what I did. ... I don't think it happened because of the color of my skin.&quot;

Singleton said the idea that her case had to do with race was largely a creation of the media and activists who saw a chance to make a political point.

&quot;This was not about being the Rosa Parks of education,&quot; he told the board.

The panel also heard Wednesday from attorneys and Williams-Bolar's friends, family and neighbors.

It's the parole board members' policy to deliver a report to the governor no later than 60 days, though they likely will give him their recommendation sooner.

Link

[Gen]

Re: A Rosa Parks Moment for Education

I didn't see that part in the original article

about the option of &quot;paying the school tuition to attend&quot; if you lived in another district ??

I thought the only option was that you had to be a resident end of story.

[Blackstar*]

Re: A Rosa Parks Moment for Education

<span style="font-size: 11pt">If you follow the link to the complete article in the article from NPR, they mention it:</span>
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><span style="font-weight: bold">Mr. POE</span>: Some families have offered compelling evidence that they do live within the district. Other families have withdrawn from school. Some families have moved into the district legally. And other families have chosen to apply and to pay tuition.

<span style="font-weight: bold">MARTIN</span>: Can I ask you, what is the tuition?

<span style="font-weight: bold">Mr. POE</span>: The tuition - and this is set by the State of Ohio - is $6,895 per year.</div></div>