Some Steal Top-Notch Education

Sept. 8, 2005 — -- California's Silicon Valley is world-renowned for the multitude of high-tech companies based there, like Apple Computer and Hewlett-Packard. But in the San Francisco Bay area, it's the schools that get the attention of local parents, and even drive some to break the law.

Like many high-performing school districts across the country, Silicon Valley's elite Fremont Union High School District must deal with parents falsifying residency to get their kids a shot at a top-notch education. School officials say illegal enrollment is not a victimless crime because it takes resources away from students who are legitimately entitled to them.

In April 2005, the district disenrolled close to 250 students from its five high schools, according to Dr. Steve Rowley, the district's superintendent. He said most of those students were eighth-graders who would have been incoming this fall, but for the rest, it was a message that the district is not going to excuse parents who try to cheat the system -- or their children.

The kids who sneak into Fremont Union come from neighboring school districts and from as far away as Oakland and, according to one school official, represent every ethinc and economic background possible.

"Our parents are sacrificing enormously," Rowley said. "They're legitimate taxpayers, they've put their hard-earned money where it counts, they've sacrificed for their kids' education and all of our kids -- from the ones who run off to Harvard and Stanford, to those who are on the other end of the spectrum -- deserve the resources that we've got."

Rowley said that the district was able to save $3 million by weeding out students who didn't belong, though they chose not to pursue legal action against any.

Taking Parents to Court

Rowley says that lying to get children into better schools -- even if the goal is to get them a better education -- sets a bad example for kids. Both are sentiments that are echoed by superintendents in school districts across the country.

Jack Parish, superintendent of the Henry County School District, a suburb of Atlanta, says illegal enrollments are a drain on law-abiding, tax-paying citizens.

"It isn't hard at all, even as an educator to say, 'you need to either live in Henry County and reside here -- therefore making your child eligible to attend our schools -- or you need to attend school in the district where you live,'" he said.

The district has gone so far as to have some parents who break the rules arrested. In 2003, a county judge ordered the arrest of three mothers for lying on notarized documents, a felony, which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Although a grand jury refused to indict the women, Parish stands by the district's decision.

"I think the residents and citizens of Henry County were very supportive of what we were trying to do," said Parish. "We want to ensure that the students who are here are in fact children of Henry County residents."

Guardianships for Sale

Since taking over as superintendent in 2002, Rowley says the Fremont Union district has been forced to come up with more aggressive techniques to catch parents who are savvy about creating or acquiring false documentation to prove they live in the area.

"We don't accept utility bills like PG&E [Pacific Gas & Electric] because we understand those are being sold for quite a handsome sum," Rowley explained. "You know, 'I'll pay your PG&E bill for you plus maybe as much as $5,000 a year in exchange for using your mailbox."

Rowley says he's even heard of people selling guardianships to families who want their kids to attend one of the district's high schools being advertised as far away as Taiwan.

Is it Really a Problem?

Bruce Hunter, associate executive director of public policy for the American Association of School Administrators, says not all parents who lie to get their children into top schools are trying to provide a better education.

"More commonly it's a parent that would like their child in a school for a reason that isn't academic," he said. "In some cases it's close to a job that a parent is commuting to and from."

Hunter says that, in his experience, most schools aren't too aggressive about going after students who don't belong until it becomes a big problem, like in Silicon Valley or Henry County. Most turn a blind eye, he says, unless the kids are troublemakers or have special needs.

"If a student who had multiple handicaps and was going to cost you $100,000 a year to serve -- which is not at all unusual -- showed up, you would insist on seeing proof of residence," Hunter said.

Victims of a Broken System?

Parish attributes the influx of students to his school district to human nature, but he still doesn't think the ends justify the means.

"I think it's a natural occurrence for parents to want to try to get the best education they possibly can for their children," he said. "I just think there are appropriate and inappropriate ways to go about achieving that."

But Rowley doesn't blame the parents. While not excusing or condoning their behavior, he puts the blame on underfunded school systems.

"The school-funding system in this country has been so broken for so long," he said, "This is unfortunate and this is sort of the state of our society, we can moan and groan about it and we can try to cheat and lie and get our kids into better systems, but we really don't have many places where the electorate is willing to stand up and say 'I am willing to invest in education.' "

Unlike most school districts in California, Fremont Union is a 'basic aid district' and does not use any state funding for its schools, depending solely on money generated by local property taxes.

Rowley also blames federal laws such as No Child Left Behind and state programs. He says the programs' requirements force schools to spend their often limited funds to meet program requirements.

"You can't go to a state and not find this huge tension between these so-called standards that are being set by legislatures and the pathetic level of funding overall," he said.

That tension became palpable in late August when Connecticut became the first state to sue the government, blasting the policy for being a multimillion-dollar unfunded mandate and for not allowing the state to set its own testing guidelines.

"It's a big national problem," Rowley said.

Rowley says that lying to get children into better schools -- even if the goal is to get them a better education -- sets a bad example for kids. Both are sentiments that are echoed by superintendents in school districts across the country.

Jack Parish, superintendent of the Henry County School District, a suburb of Atlanta, says illegal enrollments are a drain on law-abiding, tax-paying citizens.

"It isn't hard at all, even as an educator to say, 'you need to either live in Henry County and reside here -- therefore making your child eligible to attend our schools -- or you need to attend school in the district where you live,'" he said.

The district has gone so far as to have some parents who break the rules arrested. In 2003, a county judge ordered the arrest of three mothers for lying on notarized documents, a felony, which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Although a grand jury refused to indict the women, Parish stands by the district's decision.

"I think the residents and citizens of Henry County were very supportive of what we were trying to do," said Parish. "We want to ensure that the students who are here are in fact children of Henry County residents."

Guardianships for Sale

Since taking over as superintendent in 2002, Rowley says the Fremont Union district has been forced to come up with more aggressive techniques to catch parents who are savvy about creating or acquiring false documentation to prove they live in the area.

"We don't accept utility bills like PG&E [Pacific Gas & Electric] because we understand those are being sold for quite a handsome sum," Rowley explained. "You know, 'I'll pay your PG&E bill for you plus maybe as much as $5,000 a year in exchange for using your mailbox."

Rowley says he's even heard of people selling guardianships to families who want their kids to attend one of the district's high schools being advertised as far away as Taiwan.

Is it Really a Problem?

Bruce Hunter, associate executive director of public policy for the American Association of School Administrators, says not all parents who lie to get their children into top schools are trying to provide a better education.

"More commonly it's a parent that would like their child in a school for a reason that isn't academic," he said. "In some cases it's close to a job that a parent is commuting to and from."

Hunter says that, in his experience, most schools aren't too aggressive about going after students who don't belong until it becomes a big problem, like in Silicon Valley or Henry County. Most turn a blind eye, he says, unless the kids are troublemakers or have special needs.

"If a student who had multiple handicaps and was going to cost you $100,000 a year to serve -- which is not at all unusual -- showed up, you would insist on seeing proof of residence," Hunter said.

Victims of a Broken System?

Parish attributes the influx of students to his school district to human nature, but he still doesn't think the ends justify the means.

"I think it's a natural occurrence for parents to want to try to get the best education they possibly can for their children," he said. "I just think there are appropriate and inappropriate ways to go about achieving that."

But Rowley doesn't blame the parents. While not excusing or condoning their behavior, he puts the blame on underfunded school systems.

"The school-funding system in this country has been so broken for so long," he said, "This is unfortunate and this is sort of the state of our society, we can moan and groan about it and we can try to cheat and lie and get our kids into better systems, but we really don't have many places where the electorate is willing to stand up and say 'I am willing to invest in education.' "

Unlike most school districts in California, Fremont Union is a 'basic aid district' and does not use any state funding for its schools, depending solely on money generated by local property taxes.

Rowley also blames federal laws such as No Child Left Behind and state programs. He says the programs' requirements force schools to spend their often limited funds to meet program requirements.

"You can't go to a state and not find this huge tension between these so-called standards that are being set by legislatures and the pathetic level of funding overall," he said.

That tension became palpable in late August when Connecticut became the first state to sue the government, blasting the policy for being a multimillion-dollar unfunded mandate and for not allowing the state to set its own testing guidelines.

"It's a big national problem," Rowley said.