OH mom jailed for sending kids to a better school

[Amby 490]

Much of the poltical rhetoric on education reform has centered on the ability of parents to send their children to better schools, particularly in situations where they were forced to send them to schools that were failing. But in the case of Kelley Williams-Bolar, her desire to get her children better educational placement landed her in jail, and may well derail her aspirations of becoming a teacher herself.

Williams-Bolar, 40, and her two children live in housing projects in Akron, Ohio. For two years, she sent them to school in the Copley-Fairlawn district, where her father lived, because it was a safer environment -- the high crime rate in her area drove her decision. The suburban school district hired a private investigator to find their residential records and it turned out she listed the children as living in that district, although they actually stayed with her.

Technically, that qualifies as a felony since she falsified records, and Judge Patricia Cosgrove sentenced her to two concurrent five-year prison sentences. She suspended the sentence, though, in favor of a 10-day jail sentence, 80 hours of community service and three years probation. She had been working as a teaching assistant for special needs children and earning a teaching degree, but since she is now a convicted felon, under Ohio law she cannot earn that degree.

The conviction has caused outrage among many who advocate change and improvement in education, particularly for the poor and disadvantaged minority communities. Syracuse University professor Boyce Watkins took to the blogosphere to openly voice his outrage.

"There is no logical reason on earth why this mother of two should be dehumanized by going to jail and be left permanently marginalized from future economic and educational opportunities, he wrote on his blog. "Even if you believe in the laws that keep poor kids trapped in underperforming schools, the idea that this woman should be sent to jail for demanding educational access is simply ridiculous."

The website Change.org has launched a petition in support of reduction on appeal of Williams-Bolar's conviction, and have started a Twitter campaign on it.

Both girls, now aged 16 and 12, attended schools in Copley-Fairlawn from August 2006 to June 2008, but now attend school elsewhere, according to the Akron Beacon-Journal.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/01/26/ohio-mom-jailed-for-sending-her-kids-to-a-better-school/

[trillium13 84]

"There is no logical reason on earth why this mother of two should be dehumanized by going to jail and be left permanently marginalized from future economic and educational opportunities, he wrote on his blog. "Even if you believe in the laws that keep poor kids trapped in underperforming schools, the idea that this woman should be sent to jail for demanding educational access is simply ridiculous."

This pretty much sums it up. Is there no actual crime going on in this town?

[TBoneTX 45,893]

The suburban school district hired a private investigator to find their residential records

(1) Why?

(2) "Your papers, Comrade."

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Clearly she needs to be deported. She has no respect for the law.

[^_^ 5,021]

This pretty much sums it up. Is there no actual crime going on in this town?

I don't know about Ohio, but out here there is a lot of 'outrage' over out-of-district children using fake addresses to attend public schools other than the ones they're supposed to attend. It's usually poor families, sometimes the undocumented, trying to get their kids into a better school. Parents in 'well to do' districts have been known to sue the school administration over not trying to weed out of district kids out.

[Jenn! 918]

What is the point of having rules if they are not going to be enforced?

[^_^ 5,021]

What is the point of having rules if they are not going to be enforced?

Fair point. And why should home owners who take on massive mortgages and gargantuan property tax bills not be able to benefit from what they're paying for?

[slim 1,530]

She broke the law. Period.

I don't understand why they're trying to hold her up as some hero. She's a criminal. All that BS about sending them to a better school because of crime in the area or substandard performance is also hogwash. If a mom is willing to break the law to get her children a good education you'd think she'd be active in the PTA or school board of her community.

"We can't change this school so I'll just send you somewhere else." Sounds like people who move away from urban areas to escape crime instead of doing something about it.

[^_^ 5,021]

She broke the law. Period.

I don't understand why they're trying to hold her up as some hero. She's a criminal. All that BS about sending them to a better school because of crime in the area or substandard performance is also hogwash. If a mom is willing to break the law to get her children a good education you'd think she'd be active in the PTA or school board of her community.

"We can't change this school so I'll just send you somewhere else." Sounds like people who move away from urban areas to escape crime instead of doing something about it.

Yeah. I'd like to see them make a sequel to Fresh Prince of Bel Air where they arrest Will's parents and have them executed.

Edited January 28, 2011 by \

[slim 1,530]

Yeah. I'd like to see them make a sequel to Fresh Prince of Bel Air where they arrest Will's parents and have them executed.

Only problem with that is Uncle Phil was Will's guardian and Will actually lived there too... and he went to private school. Not much in the way of residency requirements there.

[^_^ 5,021]

Private school, I forgot all about that!

[Ban Hammer 13,480]

What is the point of having rules if they are not going to be enforced?

we'll make a republican outta you yet

[sandinista! 1,816]

Last I checked though the criminals that make certain schools unsafe aren't exactly shaking in their boots in fear of PTAs or school boards. Nor do either of those bodies have much clout with the people who make the real decisions re. school funding etc. PTAs and school boards are freaking useless in most areas, and less than useless when most of the people on them are broke. Sometimes people have to work too, that ###### gets all in the way of them belonging to useless committees that no one in any position of power or authority listens to anyways. Her dad lives in the district, pays taxes to that district-shouldn't he have some say in how his money's spent? He doesn't have kids in school there, but he's paying for them. He was getting duped a lot more than she was duping anyways.

She broke the law. Period.

I don't understand why they're trying to hold her up as some hero. She's a criminal. All that BS about sending them to a better school because of crime in the area or substandard performance is also hogwash. If a mom is willing to break the law to get her children a good education you'd think she'd be active in the PTA or school board of her community.

"We can't change this school so I'll just send you somewhere else." Sounds like people who move away from urban areas to escape crime instead of doing something about it.

[sandinista! 1,816]

Fair point. And why should home owners who take on massive mortgages and gargantuan property tax bills not be able to benefit from what they're paying for?

By that same token then, are apartment dwellers with children ripping off the system? Parasites feeding on wealth they didn't contribute to gathering on anything remotely the same scale? Like that Slums of Beverly Hills movie?

[^_^ 5,021]

By that same token then, are apartment dwellers with children ripping off the system? Parasites feeding on wealth they didn't contribute to gathering on anything remotely the same scale?

Depends.

If there are local laws requiring that apartment complexes offer a certain number of units at below-market rates so hoodrats have a way to get out without actually accomplishing anything, then yes. They're moochers and parasites. If all apartments are offered at market rates, then rents and mortgages tend to be in a certain equilibrium. I have no problem with market-rate rent payers.