We all want the best for our children. So much that parents are lying about their residency to ensure that their kids are attending the schools of their choice. Not anymore. Greenwich Public Schools in Connecticut are going as far as making parents complete notarized affidavits testifying to their address. Read more Below.
Like many before her, Susie T. Ponce bought a house in Greenwich, Conn., for the schools. Her son and daughter attend the Hamilton Avenue School, a magnet school that offers foreign languages in kindergarten and a Suzuki music program.
Ms. Ponce also drives a minivan with New York plates, which explains why at 6:30 one morning last school year, she opened her door to find a Greenwich school official checking to make sure that she and her children lived in the house they said they did. Someone had reported those New York plates to the school.
“It was a big surprise,” she said. “They do follow up.”
Officials with Greenwich Public Schools are doing more than just making house visits to ensure their students live in the district. A new policy this year requires parents or guardians registering their child for school to complete notarized affidavits testifying to their address. Lying, the document points out, could result in criminal prosecution.
The district’s residency office — whose duties include checking on people like Ms. Ponce — has new tools to monitor students’ whereabouts, including a lease-tracking database to alert the office when a lease expires. Officials now crosscheck property records with the Greenwich tax assessor’s office, the Postal Service and the local newspaper, which lists property transfers every month.
Another new policy required renters to submit notarized affidavits from their landlords attesting that their leases were legitimate and promising to notify the district when they expired. After complaints that the requirement was too burdensome to renters and landlords, officials dropped it last month.
Many school districts around the country, particularly those in wealthier areas, have taken to scrutinizing living arrangements in recent years. With shrinking budgets and a stagnant economy, taxpayers are increasingly vigilant about how their dollars are spent, administrators said, and unwilling to pay for students whose families may be tricking the system to get a better education.
“There are lots and lots of questions about whether the students in our schools are residents,” said William S. McKersie, superintendent of the Greenwich Public Schools.
Trumbull, a town about 30 miles away, for example, also requires renters — and their landlords — to submit notarized affidavits. Gary Cialfi, assistant superintendent for Trumbull Public Schools, said the issue was “big and getting bigger,” with his office spending more time rooting out nonresidents.
“We are trying to make sure we are protecting the Trumbull taxpayer from paying for students who are not legitimate enrollees of the school,” he said. Three years ago, nine students were forced to leave when it became clear they were not residents of the town. The number fell to eight the next year and five this year.
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