More than two-dozen students were removed from Norwalk schools this year because they lived in other cities. However, none of the parents in these cases have been arrested, unlike Tanya McDowell, a Bridgeport mother who has been charged with stealing school services.
Since September, outreach workers for Norwalk Public Schools have conducted 58 investigations, according to Bruce Morris, human relations officer for the Norwalk schools. Investigators found that in 24 cases, the students were valid Norwalk residents. In 26 instances, the children did not live in Norwalk and were disenrolled. Eight cases remain under investigation. The district has said repeatedly it "did not initiate" the criminal proceedings against McDowell. The Housing Authority and the Norwalk police initiated the arrest.
Morris would not comment on which schools the 26 students attended or which cities or towns they were from. He said 16 of the 26 were elementary school students.
Morris said school administrators have some “flags” that a student might be out of district, including poor attendance, returned mail and unreturned phone calls. Currently, the district has two outreach workers that go to homes to confirm Norwalk residency, based on calls from school administrators.
The review confirms there are out-of-district students attending Norwalk school, says Morris. The information also implies, however, that the “larger public perception of hundreds of out-of-districts students is probably inaccurate." He also points out that half of the investigations were unfounded.
School board Chairman Jack Chiaramonte said there should be a monetary penalty for illegally attending an out-of-district school. “Right now, there is no disincentive to attend our schools. An education is not free. It comes from taxpayers' money,” he says. “Norwalk is having a hard enough time taking care of its own.”
Chiaramonte plans to put the out-of-district policy on the agenda for the next Board of Education meeting. “If you lie on a government form, there has to be a penalty. Right now, what's the worst that can happen? You just get sent back. It's all bark and no bite.”
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I think that one thing that people keep overlooking in this particular case, or maybe conveniently ignoring, is that the other two dozen students were handled by the BOE. This case is NOT being handled by the BOE, it's being handled by the Norwalk Housing Authority, which is directly responsible to HUD.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, it's important to remember that the mother in this case has already made false accusations about the Norwalk Police Department, which were quickly disproven;fired her NAACP lawyer once and apparently rehired him.
People keep trying to spin this so it sounds like Norwalk is out to get this woman or she is being victimized. Guess again. She's got a criminal record and knows how to play the system. This time, she got caught.
The residents in low income or federal housing know that the rules and regulations are strict. In essence, this would be almost the same thing as someone claiming their neighbor's child on their income tax for the deduction. Oh, you may get away with it for a while, but one day, the IRS could be knocking on the door.
It's tough when there's a minor child involved and everyone wants to be compassionate. But it is also unfair to keep trying to drag the BOE and the City administration into it. Truthfully, it's out of both of their jurisdiction.
Well said 8:31, well said!
ReplyDeleteSpin seems to be the word of this decade. Anything people want to post is allowed, whether factual or not. Life on the blogs is beginning to look like a soap opera and people become addicted to the stories. Opinion rules. So......if it is said that someone in central office is a covert spy for the CIA, I'll bet that several people would claim to know who it is, how much that person is paid by the CIA and what the mission is all about.
ReplyDeleteThat said, we don't know the truth about this woman who was arrested. Let the truth come out with a fair trial, if that is even possible.
And with THAT said......I'm sure the spin will continue, because...after all....soaps lasted many years because of human need for high drama.
There is no spin, and no drama, to this post. I seriously doubt that the larger perception of hundreds of out of district children in our schools is, as Morris claims, "inaccurate."
ReplyDeleteI also take real issue with his statements about the investigators. They are aides employed by the district, not investigators, and they only work from 9 until 3. Lots of people aren't home during those hours. Further, many parents we want investigated lie and claim that they are living with Norwalk relatives. Merely sending an aide to knock on the door of the alleged residence and ask the resident if the child lives there doesn't constitute much of an investigation. If they have been dishonest (and so many are) and falsely signed the affidavits, they usually lie to the outreach worker.
Really, at the building level, I wonder why I should even bother. It is a lot of work, negative energy, and angry parents. And it ends up in somebody's 'round file.'
6:03 p.m. - When there are questions about residency, it doesn't make sense to send out a private investigator right off the bat. Sometimes it can be handled by an aide because it is simple verification. The fact that 26 kids were found not to be residents means that with a normal class size of 23, that's more than one complete class removed from the system. I fully realize that the students that were "unenrolled" were not all the same grade, or the same school but even so, just a rough calculation of 26 students times the $15,000 it is estimated to cost to education a child here in Norwalk yields --- may I have the envelope, please? -----
ReplyDelete$390,000.
Are there probably more non-residential students in Norwalk. Yeah.
But your issue seems to be with Mr. Morris rather than what this whole dust up is about. Once again, this is a Federal case and judging by the picture I saw in the paper the other day following her court appearance, Ms. McDowell seems absolutely thrilled with all the attention she's getting.
So, if I go to J.C. Penny or Kohls or Goodwill and steal clothes for my children is it okay because it's for my children? Can I get a pass on being arrested for shoplifting because after all, it's for my children?
ReplyDeleteAnyone else think it's a little odd that there's no back-up for any of the numbers? Let's not even get started that the school department employee who offered these awful "statistics" is using them for his political purposes. Just sayin' . . . . . .
ReplyDeleteThis thief and drug seller belongs in jail for 20 years.
ReplyDeleteThe court will decide the outcome of this case, as it should. What is most disturbing is how this case has become the primary political focus for Norwalk's mayoral race this year. Apparently, there are no pertinent, debatable issues out there. You can bet there will be a scramble come this October, when the focus of the McDowell case shifts due to public disinterest. This is precisely why most people are distrustful of anything that remotely hints at partisan opinion.
ReplyDeleteMoina, could we have an update on what's happening with the budget? I know the teacher's union has offered some plans to help balance the budget
ReplyDelete10:49: I'm actually writing a story about the budget for Monday. I had a conversation with Dr. Marks who said that the BOE is talking to "major" unions but wouldn't give more details beyond that.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Moina!
ReplyDeleteHas Supt. Marks explained why she wants to close the Planetarium and cut out all the intervention aides?
ReplyDeleteI think these are the worst kinds of cuts.
Lisa, I totally agree! It may be rumor, but I hear she wants to keep the VP's at whatever cost. I sincerely hope she would not keep some of the VP's at the smaller elementary if it meant axing the planetarium. Ralph Mackenstein and his planetarium are real assets to the students at several grade levels district-wide. It would be HUGE mistake to cut him from the budget.
ReplyDeleteLisa D.R. and 6:44-- On Friday, I sat in on a show at the Roton Planetarium. I was impressed! I'm writing a story about the Planetarium and Dr. Mackenstein, which I'll post in the next day or two.
ReplyDeleteI hear that some of the intervention aides are excellent. Unfortunately, ours is not. This person was inherited and, for an obvious reason,is untouchable. No one in our school would be sorry to see her go.
ReplyDeleteThey are aides, and should not hold themselves out to parents as social workers, 'crisis experts' or 'intervention workers.' They have all of the job duties of classroom aides in their job description. Again, ours refuses to do many aspects of the job. They can go. Maybe they were necessary before there were assistant principals in the system, but they aren't necessary now.
David Watts who is running for council is trying to bring down the mayor due to jealousy and envy. As far as I am concerned, jail McDonald, Watts and the NAACP for causing problems in Norwalk and making us look bad before the country!
ReplyDelete