Gloria Romero on Residency Laws

Here’s an op ed by Gloria Romero in tomorrow’s Orange County Register about this:

There is a "crime" wave sweeping America.

Across the nation, parents are being arrested for "theft of educational services."

Kelley Williams-Bolar talks with the state parole board on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 in Columbus, Ohio. Williams-Bolar, 41, of Akron served nine days in jail for falsifying information on records that were used to send her daughters to a suburban school outside their urban district.

The latest arrest occurred in Pennsylvania where Mr. and Mrs. Hamlet Garcia were arrested, handcuffed, made to perform the "perp walk," charged and, if convicted, face up to seven years in prison for enrolling their 5-year-old daughter in a school outside their Zip Code.

The Garcias are naturalized citizens. They own a local business. They were separated, during which time Mrs. Garcia moved out and went to live with her father in neighboring Montgomery County, enrolling their child in the local school. Eventually, the couple reconciled. Rather than further disrupting the child's life, they left her in the school to complete the academic year.

This is a school that is under-enrolled. It has less than 10 minority students. The district dispatched a private investigator to follow the parents. Based on this, the Garcia's were arrested. 

Their offer to make financial restitution to the district was declined. The district attorney vowed to "make an example of them." Their first court appearance occurred this week.

The Garcias are not alone.

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