Is It OK To Fudge About Residency So Kids Can Go To A Certain School?

Every parent wants the best education for their kids. But are some parents willing to tweak their legal residency so their children go to a certain school?

The Atlanta Public School System is investigating a series of possibly fradulent enrollments at Grady High School. After auditing enrollment records throughout the district, school system officials determined that Grady’s enrollment is higher than anticipated. And the system said it wants to “ensure that students currently attending Grady are there appropriately.”

Burgeoning enrollment is also a major issue in Decatur, where that system's enrollment is 10 percent more this year than last year.

And in 2011, an especially big jump in enrollment led to outrage among parents of Oakhurst Elementary-zoned kindergarteners, who were told their children would have to attend another school because of overcrowding. This incident came right as the APS cheating investigation was ending.

And just after the APS went through a hugely divisive redistricting and school closure debate, comes news that Inman Middle School is badly overcrowded. All options are on the table when it comes to addressing the problem, including moving sixth or eighth graders to vacant buildings in the Old Fourth Ward, or building a new middle school entirely.

Patch wants to know: is it wrong for parents to falsify their residency so their kids can attend a different school from the one in which they are zoned? Does it bother you that some overcrowding could be the result of families not being truthful about their legal residence?

Related Topics:

APS To Investigate Possible Fradulent Enrollment At Grady.

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Edwards On School Overcrowding.

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