A suburban Ohio school district has begun offering $100 for tips on children who aren’t supposed to be attending the schools because they live outside the district.
The crackdown was prompted by bus drivers in the Copley-Fairlawn district outside of Akron, who saw students getting off in front of vacant buildings or parents in cars dropping off students at the bus stop. Since September, 45 illegal students have left and six others stayed and paid the annual nonresident tuition of $7,614, according to the Associated Press. At least four $100 bounties have been paid out.
An Big Brotheresque notice on each of the district school’s websites doesn’t mention the $100 payment, but makes the point impossible to miss: “If you know of children attending the Copley-Fairlawn City Schools that are not living within our school district, please call the Board of Education Office at 330-664-4800 and report their names, addresses, and the information you have that would indicate that they do not live within our district. Information supplied will be kept confidential.”
six others stayed and paid the annual nonresident tuition of $7,614
This absolutely blows my mind.
Let me get this straight: a parent has free public education offered where they live, but will pay over seven grand to travel to a different “free” school? Either I’m missing something here, or a) the schools where they live are really, really bad, or b) these schools are the future model for all education.
Something tells me it’s not the latter.
It’s the equivalent of paying protection money to the mafia, really. “Nice kid you got here. It’d be a shame if something happened to him…”