District Administration - March 2007 - (Page 17)

Warning : session_start : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : session_start : Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 10 STAT BLAST chools across the nation are wrestling with large numbers of student boundary hopping, as more and more parents provide false addresses to enroll their children in speciﬁc schools. Most of the time, parents are looking for a better or safer educat ion for their children, says Jim Burcio, director of child welfare and attendance for the Antioch Calif. Uniﬁed School District www.antioch.k12.ca.us . Conven ience also motivates parents, says Norwalk Conn. Public Schools www.norwalkpublicschools.org Superintendent Sal Corda. Costs can add up as a district provides services for unidentiﬁed nonresidents, and boundary hoppi ng can be a signiﬁcant strain on overcrowded schools. So districts are now getting tough and spendi ng thousands of dollars to investigate cases of boundary hopping. La st year 3,000 parents at Grosse Pointe Mich. Public Schools www.gpschools.org signed cost of achieving universal primary education would be about $70 billion per year, less than three-tenths of a percent of the gross national income of most rich countries. 323 million children worldwide are still not in school. The ﬁnancial S ourc e : American Academy of Arts and Sciences Cracking Down on Boundary Hopping S a petition, and in response the district spent $8,000 to reregister its 9,000 students, and uncovered 40 boundary hoppers. Now the district is spending $14,000 to investigate 102 cases. So far, 56 families have demonstrated legal residency, 26 nonresident students have been removed and 20 are under investigation. Investigations were less fruitful in Norwalk, which spent $14,000 to uncover fewer than a half dozen Students whose circumstances seem suspicious are asked for proof of residency. nonresidents in its 11,000 student population, says Corda. Somet i mes parents and taxpayer s exaggerate boundary hopping claims. When Antioch built a new high school for 3,000 students, residents claimed that the unfam i l ia r kids were from a neighbor- i ng district. A civil grand jury determined the district was doing everything it could to maintain an accurate roster. The district’s two child-welfare staffers now ride public buses to see where students get on and off. Students whose circumstances seem suspicious are asked for proof of residency. “Most cases end with a home visit, but a few require a private investigation at a cost of $300 to $400 per student,” says Burcio. Burcio estimates that four out of every hundred reported suspicious students are actual boundary hoppers; the majority are legitimate residents. A few districts, like Reynoldsbu rg City Schools in Ohio reynoldsburg.schoolnet.com , are requiring landlord afﬁdavits and oaths of residency and are billing boundary-hopping families up to $120,000 for tuition and legal fees. —Lisa Fratt IN-DEMAND EVENTS PUBLISHING INNOVATIVE 800.733.6786 w w w. s o l u t i o n - t r e e . c o m www.DistrictAdministration.com PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT March 2007 17 INSPIRED DA_307_Update ZM.indd 2 2/13/07 1:27:03 PM Warning : Unknown : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in Unknown on line 0 Warning : Unknown : Failed to write session data files . Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct /var/lib/php/session in Unknown on line 0 http://www.antioch.k12.ca.us http://www.norwalkpublicschools.org http://reynoldsburg.schoolnet.com http://www.gpschools.org http://www.solution-tree.com http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - March 2007

Contents
Editor's Letter
Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Friday Night Fever
Creating an Effective Virtual School Program
Hunting for Talent
Multimedia Man
Do These Web Sites Work?
Finding Funds for Student Laptops
Curriculum Crassifieds
Gearing Up for Science Assessments
New Products
Computer Literature
Speaking Out
Principal Opinion
The Online Edge
Calendar of Events
Problem/Solution
Research Corner

District Administration - March 2007