Crackdown on non-resident high school students Crackdown on non-resident high school students (July 13, 2005)

** Sequoia district parents must show proof of residency; most non-residents will be denied admittance or dismissed, officials say.

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

With years of tight budgets facing the Sequoia Union High School District, and with efforts under way to cut costs without cutting staff or programs in the coming year, the district is embarking on a search to find students who attend school but live outside district boundaries.

Under a new policy, parents will be required to show proof of residency. Non-resident freshmen will be denied admittance, and sophomores and juniors dismissed at the semester break, school officials said. Seniors will be allowed to graduate.

The district -- which includes Menlo-Atherton and Woodside high schools -- may have as many as 800 students in school illegally, many because their parents work within district boundaries and want their children close by, said district spokeswoman Susan Berghouse.

If enrollment were lowered by 800 students -- about 10 percent of the student body -- the district could recoup as much as $2 million by reducing teaching and support staff costs, said Sequoia district superintendent Patrick Gemma.

"We believe we owe it to (parents) and other taxpayers that your property tax dollars go to educating the students of our school district community, not to those who would try to falsely represent their addresses and other means of personal identification," said Mr. Gemma in a recent letter to parents.

School board president Gordon Lewin said he wants to avoid a perception of the district as vindictive or draconian, but added: "Parents who enroll their children who are not residents in the school district have taught their children a lesson: That it's OK to cheat, that it's OK to lie."

The new proof-of-residency procedure will go into effect for freshmen before school starts in September.

In October and November, the focus will shift to the sophomore and junior classes, with non-resident students to be dismissed at the semester break, said former M-A principal Eric Hartwig, who is now on special assignment and closely involved in this district-wide effort.

Non-resident seniors will be allowed to graduate, said Mr. Hartwig.

The procedure will require parents to prove residency with documents such as driver's licenses, rental agreements and tax returns. Utility bills, which school officials said have been faked in the past, will not be accepted.

"Our goal is to implement this humanely, rationally and fairly, but also not to be hoodwinked," said Mr. Hartwig.

On specified August evenings, parents of freshmen will have to bring their documents to the district office in Redwood City. M-A is scheduled for Thursday, August 4, and Woodside for Thursday, August 11, with the office to be open the following Saturday for parents who miss the Thursday dates.

The process for sophomores and juniors will be run from each school, said Mr. Hartwig.

Homeless and transient students and students with multiple residences will be looked at "very, very carefully," said Mr. Hartwig. "Our goal is to be fair and not to put families through undue stress." Decisions can be appealed, he added.

School district employees with children of high-school age can apply for inter-district transfers.
Local issue?

Previously, the job of finding non-resident students was left to schools. Woodside and Menlo-Atherton high schools dismiss between five and 10 students each semester, said the school principals.

Non-residents tend to come to light because of discipline problems, said M-A Principal Norman Estrada.

Woodside Principal Linda Common said families also move without informing the school, and are discovered during emergencies when the school is trying to reach parents.

Ms. Berghouse, the district spokeswoman, said M-A and Woodside attract non-resident students from the East Bay because of their proximity to the Dumbarton Bridge. M-A's variety of advanced-placement classes is another draw for illegal students, she said.

"I think (parents of non-resident students) probably have terrific motivations, but the system isn't set up to accept them willy-nilly," said Mr. Hartwig.
:INFORMATION

Parents of freshmen will be asked to bring proof of residency to the Sequoia district office at 480 James Ave. in Redwood City from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursday evenings in August. August 4 is reserved for Menlo-Atherton High School parents and August 11 for Woodside High School parents. Make-up days are Saturdays, August 6 and 13, respectively. For more information, call 369-1411, ext. 2213.

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