Forty-two percent of freshmen parents still need to prove residency Forty-two percent of freshmen parents still need to prove residency (August 24, 2005)

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

About 42 percent of the parents of ninth-graders starting school soon at Woodside and Menlo-Atherton high schools have yet to comply with the high school district's toughened policy requiring parents to prove their residency in the district, said former M-A principal Eric Hartwig, who is closely involved with the program.

Saturday, August 13, marked the end of the Sequoia Union High School District's two-week series of events at the Redwood City district office, where parents were asked to present a photo ID, a vehicle registration or recent state or federal tax return, and a property tax bill or lease agreement. Parents of sophomores and juniors will be questioned about residency during the fall semester.

"It went OK. I would use that word," Sequoia Superintendent Patrick Gemma told the Almanac.

Both Mr. Gemma and Mr. Hartwig said they were pleased with the goodwill shown by parents in providing the documents.

Both men said the district is taking pains to find acceptable ways of accommodating families who live in the district but stayed away from the verification events because they don't have all the necessary documents.
Raising the bar

The new set of documents is intended to throw enough of a roadblock in front of would-be forgers to winnow out from the 8,000 district students a suspected 10 percent thought to be nonresidents attending school illegally, said Mr. Gemma. The district could recoup as much as $2 million after letting go the extra staff needed to teach nonresident students.

"I believe that parents of students who are here illegally will, more likely than not, move their kids to their schools of residence rather than phony up documents," he said. It's easy to verify that you live here and now "very difficult" if you don't, he added.

Utility bills, heretofore a common currency of residency verification -- and still so among elementary school districts -- are not accepted by the Sequoia district because, officials concluded, they are too easily forged.

Mr. Gemma said he is unaware of anyone who tried to use doctored documents in this series of verification events, and suggested that one reason may be that the new set of documents are harder to forge.

Parents who have yet to go through the verification process received an automated phone call from the district recently, and students will be reminded at freshman orientation and in the first week of school, said Mr. Hartwig.

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