| Students removed due to residency (12/07) | | Print | |
| Written by Belinda Hu | |
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The San Francisco Unified School District is relocating students who attend district schools but do not live in the city.
Former Lowell junior Althea Jaradelza and another former Lowell student who requested to remain anonymous were asked to leave the school last year due to residency requirements.
Jaradelza, who now attends Balboa High School, lived in San Francisco with her grandmother during the weekdays and returned to her parents in El Sobrante during the weekends. Jaradelza’s mother informed the district of their change of address, not knowing that residing in the city was a requirement. According to Jaradelza’s former physical education teacher and softball coach Sascha Taylor-Ray, “The district seems to pick students at random.” However, students are not selected at random, according to Board of Education Commissioner Jill Wynns. “We have a phone line where the caller can report an out-of-city student who attends a district school illegally,” she said. “We do not immediately start following these students around, however. We double check against databases or their tax records, and if there are any irregularities, we send a letter to the students for proof of their address.” The district monitors student residency year-round. Thirty-three students who applied to Lowell for the Fall 2007 semester were sent letters asking for proof of their residency, according to the Executive Director of Educational Placement Center Darlene Lim. These families decided not to provide evidence, according to Lim. Yet residency is not always required to attend district schools. Jaradelza had an Interdistrict Transfer Agreement Permit for the 2006-2007 school year, which allows out-of-city students to attend city public schools, according to the district handbook. Students must renew their permits for each school year. Jaradelza had renewed her permit for the 2007-2008 school year, however, she received a letter from the school board in May, stating that she could not attend Lowell, according to Jaradelza. Board of Education president Mark Sanchez commented on the policy. “My understanding is that the priority of San Francisco schools goes to students who live in the city,” Sanchez said. “There are many students who wish to attend Lowell; however, Lowell is oversubscribed. Lowell is not the only school with this policy. The policy applies to every San Francisco school.” Jaradelza reapplied to Lowell using her grandmother’s address, but was declined because her grandmother was not her legal guardian, according to Jaradelza. However, the district allowed Jaradelza to apply to other San Francisco schools. Although Jaradelza fought her case, she found it pointless to continue. “We tried to get attorneys to fight for me staying at Lowell,” Jaradelza said. “But it still didn’t work out.” A second student, who requested anonymity, received a letter from the school board in March requesting that she prove her residency — or a private investigator would be hired. At the time, the student lived in San Francisco with her father, who had custody of her. The student later received a letter stating that she was no longer allowed to attend Lowell. In that letter, the board attached a private investigator’s report dated before the first letter, which had informed the source of the possibility of an investigation. The source’s father brought district officers into his San Francisco home as evidence. However, showing residency is not enough. “Families need to validate their residency through paperwork also,” Lim said. The father hired a lawyer, and the whole summer, “fought to get me back into Lowell,” the source said. “The board said they would eventually come to a decision. Their decision became that I could not go back (for the 2007-2008 school year). The board also said I have to pay a $1,000 fee for the SFUSD-hired private investigator.” The family is still appealing the fee. This fee may amount to $5,000, because families “need to take responsibility for the claim when they file under false residency,” Lim said. The district hires private investigators to confirm residency. “We try to make sure students who attend oversubscribed schools live in the city,” Sanchez said. “We have employed some (private investigators), because parents sometimes do not tell where they live, so we have to see.” One of the reasons why students and their families are forced to leave the city is because of the increasing values of homes. Mayor Gavin Newsom is trying to resolve this issue by “mini-efforts, such as providing more homes,” according to deputy communications director David Miree. Newsom, Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting and Supervisors Sophie Maxwell and Tom Ammiano have outlined an agreement, which includes “specific measures aimed at tackling the increasing number of foreclosures and mortgage defaults in San Francisco,” according to a Nov. 29 article on the city government website. |
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