Is it Stealing?

[mytwotinks]

We absolutely do pay taxes to our specific school here where I live. My taxes are $9200 a year - my school is TOP NOTCH - which is why we live here.

Two towns over the taxes are MUCH lower and the schools are not as good... They TRY to get their kids in our school - but our school REALLY cracks down on that and the parenst ARE prosecuted and sued for education costs and court fees It happens all the time in our county - at least once a year there's a huge article in teh paper about this kind of fraud going on

That's how I thought it worked too. We have great schools and great big taxes to go along. Right over the border things are much cheaper. Plus the homes are so much less $$$ that they are automatically paying less.

 

[Anewman]

We absolutely do pay taxes to our specific school here where I live. My taxes are $9200 a year - my school is TOP NOTCH - which is why we live here.

Two towns over the taxes are MUCH lower and the schools are not as good... They TRY to get their kids in our school - but our school REALLY cracks down on that and the parenst ARE prosecuted and sued for education costs and court fees It happens all the time in our county - at least once a year there's a huge article in teh paper about this kind of fraud going on

I would agree that if residents(maybe only property owners) pay taxes directly to the school district, anybody lying to get into those schools without paying those same taxes to that same district... YES IMO that is stealing.

In instances where the school gets funding for the child(by state, county, or other), and the parent is paying his fare share of taxes, IMO it would not be stealing(wrong yes).

 

[LisaNJ25]

yep

 

[cardaway]

Obviously bending or breaking the rules, but not stealing. I also have issues with the system in general because it's not always black and white. What about when a kid moves mid-school year and wants to finish the year at the old school. What about crappy zoning issues and districts wanting to bus kids 15 minutes away when there is school a few blaocks away? Not a simple issue IMO at any level.

 

[Anewman]

yep, everybody has a line item on their property tax bill which lists their particular school district and the money is paid directly to that school district.

So renters do not pay that tax??

But their children are still allowed to attend public schools, correct?

 

[Toby'sFriend]

So renters do not pay that tax??

But their children are still allowed to attend public schools, correct?

They don't pay it directly. They pay rent to the person who owns the building and the property owner pays the Property Tax.

So the school taxes are being paid, just in an indirect manner.

 

[Becky2005]

yep, everybody has a line item on their property tax bill which lists their particular school district and the money is paid directly to that school district.
...
Call me skeptical, but I'm betting that if and when they do manage to increase the State Income Tax (for the schools, the way the lottery was supposedly for the schools) I sincerely doubt my Property Tax bill will decrease at all.

Whew! I'm glad you answered that as I live in Illinois and my first thought was "yes, it does go by district" and then the county thing threw me and I got confused but I know each of our towns are distinct school districts and there is no overlapping. When our town voted to pay for building a new middle school it didn't come from any other towns property taxes. Now the town over from us is planning on voting for building another high school & I should hope my taxes won't go up with that.

In our situation though, our entire TOWN is in 1 district -- we have 1 High School. However, in our case, address changing would be a mute point for middle school because of how they did enrollment, it has absolutely nothing to do where you live. They took the list of girl's names/list of boy's name and split them in 1/2 -- 1/2 went to one school & 1/2 to the other; so neighbors can go to different schools. You are grandfathered in though for families, so my DD got to dictate which school the rest of my kids will go. For those without older children, supposedly by end of 1st grade they will be assigned a middle school.

So in that case, you could use your Grandparent's address and end up in the exact same middle school you would have if you used your own! Even if they are different sides of town.

Now I would definitely consider it stealing if you went to a completely different district, etc... I wouldn't do it anyway...I have enough issues with my boys needing extra services that I can't imagine trying to keep different addresses straight, etc... I fill out enough forms.

edited to add -- I also agree with you that I doubt the property tax will decline. I haven't read about the movement but they won't give up the property tax monies.

 

[Disney Ella]

It would be something I would feel guilty about doing. I would consider it cheating and couldn't do it. A few years ago, a girl in one of my kids' classes moved out of the district and continued attending classes here. The district found out about it and told the family that they could no longer send their children to the school. I don't know if the district made them pay back tuition or not. I don't even live in one of the hot school districts; it's just an average district, but no one's getting away with anything obviously.

 

[RitaZ.]

What about crappy zoning issues and districts wanting to bus kids 15 minutes away when there is school a few blaocks away? Not a simple issue IMO at any level.

I know several families that this happened to. THey purchased a home in a nice neighborhood (costly) and then the boundaries were changed. In one case, the school was only a couple of blocks away, yet the children had to attend school in another city. The mom was absolutely furious and I agreed with her. She tried to have her children reassigned to their neighborhood school, but never succeeded in getting approved.

If my child attended a crappy school, you better believe I'd do all within my power to make the move to a better school. If I didn't succeed through the "legal" or proper channels, then I'd consider alternative methods to make it happen. Education is one area where I'm not willing to settle.

I don't care one bit if a parent "lies" or "steals" to get their child/children in a better learning environment. I don't resent any parent that wants his/her child to have a good education in a safe environment. If you can't make the changes necessary to make your current school a better one, then it's time to bail. Some schools are doomed to fail due to their student body and their parents. There is only so much administrators, teachers and involved parents can do. No reason to subject the child to an unsafe and lousy learning environment. Any parent that fights for their child to get a better education is ok in my book!

 

[JR6ooo4]

Nope not stealing. Just Fraud.


Mikeeee

 

[Julia M]

Schools get funding from state and counties depending on how many kids show up to school everyday, hence that school got funding for that child even if that child is not a resident of school boundaries.

Actually, in some districts in CA, that's not true. There are districts called "basic aid" districts. These districts are not funded on a per student basis, the tax base is used. Consequently, the fewer students there are, the better it is, because there is the same amount of money, regardless of how many students. There are about 60 districts that are basic aid each year. They range in size from numerous districts with fewer than 200 students to the largest district, Newport-Mesa Unified School District, which has approximately 21,000 ADA.

Julia

 

[fan_of_small_world]

I don't care one bit if a parent "lies" or "steals" to get their child/children in a better learning environment.

If you take this further, then it sounds like you would be saying that it is OK for a parent to:

- forge their child's SAT scores and/or grades on their transcript in order to be accepted into a better college

- lie about their financial situation in order to obtain more financial aid so they could attend a better college

I'm sorry, but to me lying to a school district is still lying, fraud, and wrong.

 

[RitaZ.]

If you take this further, then it sounds like you would be saying that it is OK for a parent to:

- forge their child's SAT scores and/or grades on their transcript in order to be accepted into a better college

- lie about their financial situation in order to obtain more financial aid so they could attend a better college

I'm sorry, but to me lying to a school district is still lying, fraud, and wrong.

That's your assumption and your interpretation based on what I've written. Those things you mentioned are not things that I'd ever consider doing.

Again, if my child had to attend an unsafe and crappy school and I had a family member living in a better school boundary, I wouldn't hesitate to use their address to have my child attend the better school. To me, the situation that I'm describing can be a matter of safety and survival. What you're describing is nowhere even near that. I'm not willing to sacrifice my child. No one has to agree with me.

 

[fan_of_small_world]

That's your assumption and your interpretation based on what I've written. However, those things you mentioned are not things that I'd ever consider doing.

Again, if my child had to attend an unsafe and crappy school and I had a family member living in a better school boundary, I wouldn't hesitate to use their address to have my child attend the better school. To me, the situation that I'm describing can be a matter of safety and survival. What you're describing is nowhere even near that. I'm not willing to sacrifice my child. No one has to agree with me.

I did not realize that you were limiting your response to those who might choose to lie in order to keep their children out of a dangerous environment. Honestly, while it would still technically be fraud, I know that there can be "gray areas" in life and I could see where this could me one of them.

For those who take this route for non-life-threatening reasons, though, I still consider it to be wrong.

 

[momtoce&j]

Just for the record (or mine anyway) I say it is wrong and it is stealing.

(my two smaller kids (DS6 and middle DD9) now go to private school. Last year the two older ones (DD9-middle one & DD14) went to the public school 3 blocks from our house. Older one now attends the public magnet high school. that's free tuition paid for by our taxes, but it is very competitive and difficult to get into.)

Now, back to the thread...

 

[daisyduck123]

Teacher here:

I've turned in more than one student for this.
Once I find out a student does not live in our attendance area, I take any "evidence" with me & go straight to our attendance secretary. Usually, that student is handed transfer papers the next day, & off they go....to their new school.

It's cheating, fraud, whatever you want to call it.

***The saying in our school office is.....if you want your child to go to this school.... then MOVE HERE!!

 

[momto2girls]

I wish that there was a way that a household could "sponsor" a non-resident for a school district when they aren't using the services. We pay pretty hefty taxes to live in a "highly desirable" school district, but my children don't attend the schools currently (and won't in the future). A good portion of our taxes go to the school district and I hate that they are going to "waste". I seriously wish that I could sponsor children from another district.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Not for nothing but I paid alot of money to live where I live so my kids could be in this particular school district. If you want a school district then move there. Otherwise I could have bought a cheaper house anywhere and sent my kids to the school fo my choice. If you feel your district is unsafe, then you either need to move and pay taxes for the better school or send your kids to private school. I'm not trying to be rude but that's just the way it is. I don't agree with using someone's address and once the school finds out (and they always do) your kid is on it's way.

 

[JVL1018]

They do a sweep every so often here, doublecheck proof of residency and if you don't live in town, you will be kicked out of the school.

We had kids taking buses from NYC here attending our schools.

They kicked out 100 kids a few years ago, I believe. That's $100,000 or so spent on kids who have no right to be here.

It's dishonest, it's cheating and it's wrong-if I knew of anyone who did that, I would report them in a heartbeat.

If you want a certain town's schools, you are welcome to move to that town, if not, too bad.

 

[winniedapooh]

My next door neighbor gets her granddaughter dropped off every morning at 5 AM at 7:30 AM I see the FedEx truck come and in goes the daugher to pick up her daugher to bring her to school...I am not sure what makes me madder sending her child to a school district she does not belong to or putting her 5 yo in the front seat of the Fed Ex truck and driving her several miles to school on major roads! The other neighbors across the street had every one of their 8 grandchildren go to school here. They were proud of it and when the school tried to boot them they just said the kids sleep here everynight. School said there was nothing they could do.