Residency crackdown pushes forward

By Eric Athas, DAILY NEWS CORRESPONDENT
GHS
Sun Jul 29, 2007, 12:47 AM EDT

Marlborough, Mass. -
The superintendent's proposal to crack down on out-of-city residents sneaking their children into the district has been approved by the Policy Committee.

The proposal will be brought in front of the whole School Committee in August. The policy change would take a stricter stance against parents from outside cities and towns placing their child into the district.

Superintendent Barbara McGann composed the proposal after discovering that numerous students didn't live in the city, but were attending the schools.

According to the proposal, incoming students would be required to provide a document from each of three separate columns. The documents could be, for example, a valid driver's license, a gas bill, and a copy of a deed.

The proposal would affect both the resident and non-resident policies. Policy Committee Chairman Mark Hediger announced during last week's meeting his committee had unanimously approved the proposal.

"After extensive roundtable discussion and public participation," said Hediger, "we have a 3-0 vote for the new policy for residents and non-residents."

Initially the issue was to be voted on during last week's School Committee meeting, but committee member Joseph Delano said they wanted to wait.

Last week's impromptu meeting was designed to focus on staffing problems, and Delano said the committee wants to confront the residency proposal at the next meeting.

"They wanted to wait for a normal meeting," said Delano. "We wanted to give people a chance to voice their opinions."

Part of McGann's proposal would require all parents to sign a waiver at the start of each school year. The form would declare the parent/guardian is a resident of the city.

Any student found to be in violation of the new policy "shall be dismissed immediately" from the district. They can appeal the decision, and could receive additional punishment in the form of legal action, fines, or the withholding scholarships and prizes, according to the proposal.

The incoming kindergarten class would not be put through the proposed policy, since they have already registered.

During a Policy Committee meeting two weeks ago, a few members of the public expressed their concerns over the policy change. Delano said the proposal makes sense and expects its approval.

"We're required to review our policies on an ongoing basis," said Delano. "Budgets are really tight, and it only makes sense to make 100 percent sure that people that don't live in Marlborough don't go to Marlborough schools."

The three-page proposal states the district will use anonymous tips as a way to catch non-residents in the district. An accusation could lead to an investigation.

"The Marlborough Public Schools shall retain the services of an investigative agency to pursue tips and conduct proactive investigations of residency declarations suspected to be fraudulent," the policy states.

A document explaining the proposal addresses the issue of illegal immigrants living in the city. It states "no family will be denied access to school because of their immigration status." The document says an illegal immigrant would be categorized as "homeless," and would be allowed to stay in the school system.

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