WWTBAM Bored

I can't post about this on FB because the person involved would see it.

A while back, our neighbors across the street got evicted. We like this family. We especially like their two boys, who are really nice kids.

Today, I got a message from the mother, asking if they could use our address for the boys' school registration. She wrote "they want a 'lease' or such to show our 'address.' I have a dummy lease that I can use."

I checked several sources and there's no question: this is illegal.

I don't care how much I like the boys. I am not going to sign a paper that makes me a party to enrollment fraud.

franktangredi wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 01, 2020 11:28 am

I can't post about this on FB because the person involved would see it.

A while back, our neighbors across the street got evicted. We like this family. We especially like their two boys, who are really nice kids.

Today, I got a message from the mother, asking if they could use our address for the boys' school registration. She wrote "they want a 'lease' or such to show our 'address.' I have a dummy lease that I can use."

I checked several sources and there's no question: this is illegal.

I don't care how much I like the boys. I am not going to sign a paper that makes me a party to enrollment fraud.

I agree with this, of course. Is there any way you can help the boys that you are willing to undertake?

My knee-jerk reaction to such a request might well be to punish the boys for the sins of their parents by withholding help that I would otherwise be willing to give. I hope I would spot and squelch such a reaction in myself. --Bob

Bob78164 wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 01, 2020 11:47 am

franktangredi wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 01, 2020 11:28 am

I can't post about this on FB because the person involved would see it.

A while back, our neighbors across the street got evicted. We like this family. We especially like their two boys, who are really nice kids.

Today, I got a message from the mother, asking if they could use our address for the boys' school registration. She wrote "they want a 'lease' or such to show our 'address.' I have a dummy lease that I can use."

I checked several sources and there's no question: this is illegal.

I don't care how much I like the boys. I am not going to sign a paper that makes me a party to enrollment fraud.

I agree with this, of course. Is there any way you can help the boys that you are willing to undertake?

My knee-jerk reaction to such a request might well be to punish the boys for the sins of their parents by withholding help that I would otherwise be willing to give. I hope I would spot and squelch such a reaction in myself. --Bob

I would do anything legal to help them, but I have no idea what that would be. I'd testify for them if there was a hearing. But I'm not going to risk getting into legal trouble myself.

I'd also mention that depending on state law and how these documents are phrased, it may be criminal to submit fraudulent documents or make knowingly false statements in connection with school district registrations. There are people in jail for this right now.

franktangredi wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 01, 2020 11:52 am

Bob78164 wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 01, 2020 11:47 am

franktangredi wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 01, 2020 11:28 am

I can't post about this on FB because the person involved would see it.

A while back, our neighbors across the street got evicted. We like this family. We especially like their two boys, who are really nice kids.

Today, I got a message from the mother, asking if they could use our address for the boys' school registration. She wrote "they want a 'lease' or such to show our 'address.' I have a dummy lease that I can use."

I checked several sources and there's no question: this is illegal.

I don't care how much I like the boys. I am not going to sign a paper that makes me a party to enrollment fraud.

I agree with this, of course. Is there any way you can help the boys that you are willing to undertake?

My knee-jerk reaction to such a request might well be to punish the boys for the sins of their parents by withholding help that I would otherwise be willing to give. I hope I would spot and squelch such a reaction in myself. --Bob

I would do anything legal to help them, but I have no idea what that would be. I'd testify for them if there was a hearing. But I'm not going to risk getting into legal trouble myself.

Up to and including offering to have the boys move in with you? Or more likely, finding them somewhere else in the school district to live?

I don't mean to suggest that you should make either or both of these offers. We're all entitled to set our own limits on the amount of help we're willing to offer others. --Bob

franktangredi wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 01, 2020 11:28 am

I can't post about this on FB because the person involved would see it.

A while back, our neighbors across the street got evicted. We like this family. We especially like their two boys, who are really nice kids.

Today, I got a message from the mother, asking if they could use our address for the boys' school registration. She wrote "they want a 'lease' or such to show our 'address.' I have a dummy lease that I can use."

I checked several sources and there's no question: this is illegal.

I don't care how much I like the boys. I am not going to sign a paper that makes me a party to enrollment fraud.

Ask Kelley Williams-Bolar about that.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Are your neighbors from North Carolina, Frank? A weird coincidence this week.

Barr claims a man collected 1,700 ballots and filled them out as he pleased. Prosecutors say that’s not what happened.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... story.html

Back on topic...

I know the schools in central Virginia have gotten a lot stricter about residency requirements in the past eight or so years. It used to be that, for instance, if you had a day care or grandma watching the kid after school, you could use that address for your school zone. But that loophole was shut down. I know that sometimes parents will, like Frank's ex-neighbor, try to get a friend in another district to have their address-of-record for that purpose, and that had led to a few criminal charges.

The reason for this, surprisingly, isn't to keep the school districts balanced, or keep kids from flocking to the better schools. Believe it or not...

Spoiler

...it's football or other sports, even for the younger set. Which athletic association the elementary and middle schoolers play for is determined by which school you attend, and of course high school is a given - kids [or their parents] want to go to more successful programs. Most of the aforementioned criminal cases came out of footballers playing "out of district" and someone from another school figured it out and squealed. The kids all know each other, so it's hard to keep that a secret.