Thread: Mom Jailed for Lying About Kids' School Residency

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/26/oh...out-kids-scho/

Ohio Mom Jailed for Lying About Kids' School Residency

How far would you go to get your children into a better public school? The best intentions of one Ohio woman landed her in jail.

In a highly unusual case, Kelley Williams-Bolar, a single mother who lived in Akron public housing, was convicted of lying about her residency in order to send her two daughters to a highly ranked school. Her sentence, which inflamed emotions in the community, was 10 days in jail, according to reports, and is due to end this week.

"It's overwhelming. I'm exhausted," she told ABC News. "I did this for them, so there it is. I did this for them."



Four years ago, Williams-Bolar, 40, sent her girls, now 12 and 16, to the Copley-Fairlawn school district that was outside her Akron district of residence, reports said. Her father lives in the Copley-Fairlawn district, and she said she lived with him part-time after her home was burglarized and she wanted her children safe.

"When my home got broken into, I felt it was my duty to do something else," Williams-Bolar said, according to ABC.

But the district accused the aspiring teacher of lying about her address, falsifying records and having her father file false court papers to circumvent the rules, ABC said. The school asked her to repay $30,000 in tuition, saying her daughters were getting a quality education without paying taxes to contribute to the cost. She refused and was indicted.

A jury convicted her Jan. 15 of two counts of tampering with records, and she was sentenced three days later, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. She was ordered to begin the sentence immediately and was taken from the courtroom sobbing loudly, the newspaper said.

Before she was sentenced, she told the judge "there was no intention at all" to deceive the school, the Beacon Journal reported, and she pleaded to be spared jail time.

Her father, Edward Williams, 64, went on trial with his daughter, but the jury deadlocked on the charge of grand theft, the paper said.

In a jailhouse interview with the paper last week, Williams-Bolar said she'd do it again if she had to.

"If I had the opportunity, if I had to do it all over again, would I have done it?" she said. After pausing, she answered: "I would have done it again. But I would have been more detailed. ... I think they wanted to make an example of me."

Presiding Judge Patricia Cosgrove seemed to agree.

"I felt that some punishment or deterrent was needed for other individuals who might think to defraud the various school districts," she said, according to ABC.

The school district spent about $6,000 to bring Williams-Bolar to trial, a sum that included hiring a private investigator to follow her and her children, Newschannel5 reported.

Copley-Fairlawn Superintendent Brian Poe said the district has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because of children illegally enrolled in its schools. The cases are usually resolved by parents proving they live in the district, taking their kids out of the schools or paying tuition of about $800 a month, the station reported.

Williams-Bolar's case was the first residency challenge to reach a criminal courtroom, but Poe said it was to send a message. "If you're paying taxes on a home here ... those dollars need to stay home with our students," Poe said, according to the station.

The sentence puts Williams-Bolar's teaching career at risk. She is close to graduating with an education degree from the University of Akron and works as a special needs teaching assistant at a high school, the Beacon Journal reported.

"I'm not going to give up on my education," said Williams-Bolar, who plans to appeal the conviction.

But the judge said as of now, she can't become a teacher.

"Because of the felony conviction, you will not be allowed to get your teaching degree under Ohio law as it stands today," the judge said. "The court's taking into consideration that is also a punishment that you will have to serve."

From jail, Williams-Bolar has been talking by phone to her girls, who no longer go to the Copley-Fairlawn schools and have been staying with their grandfather.

She told the Beacon Journal: "I'm upset because I have never been away from my family."

I am not clear as to did all the others have to pay tuition or if it was the taxes that provided kids their education.
If it is taxes then I am sure there are lots of other people doing the same thing using a differant address just as she did they need to go after her. As to being a felony and ruining her life for trying to make a better life for her kids that is correct it is bs!! Its nice to hear stories of parents trying to do the best for their kids instead of letting them do whatever and not care about their education.

If her father already lives in that district, then HE is paying taxes to that school, so what's the difference?

Yeah, on one had what she did was wrong, and people can't go around lying just to put their kids in other districts...

but on the other hand the whole thing is stupid.

Yes lots of people do it but that does not make it right. Property taxes are paid to the schools. If she really wanted to do it for them than she could have moved to the area. Thats what I did 17 years ago. I lived in a place where I did not like the schools. Once I spoke with the principal, my mind was made up. I would homeschool until I could afford to move or find an affordable place to live. I found a place and requested from the school district that my son start on time even though we were not moving in for 3 months. They agreed and it was hell for 3 months but well worth it. My property taxes are over $6K a year. So when someone lies about where they live they are cheating me and everyone else who pay these taxes for our schools. She could have gotten out of housing and moved in with her Dad, gotten a couple of jobs to pay for the cost of having a place to live. 10 days in jail is not too much. If I had to pay out of pocket at the elementary level it is $13K a year. I chose to move and struggle to make ends meet for my children. I also taught them about being honest and hard work. What did this Mom teach her kids? Do what you want just dont get caught? Nice lesson.

Me

I UNDERSTAND everything that has been said, and I can comprehend what I read, However I still call BS because.....back home I lived on the street that split the school district, I was on the side of the street that went to school with all of our friends, and yet my best friend who lived DIRECTLY across from me on the SAME street, was bused to a different school that did not have a high academic rating. So when open enrollment finally started, they had to apply for it.