Mother jailed for sending child to another school district

[Red Commissar]

http://newsone.com/nation/boycewatkins/black-mother-jailed-akron-white-school-district-black-student/

Basically, from what this piece describes, the Akron, Ohio mother had been sending her two children to another school district (Fairlawn it seems), by registering her children's address with her father who lived in nearby Copley Township which shares its educational system with Fairlawn. The mother and her children lives in a bad part of Akron in the projects.

Affluent suburbs tend to have better school systems, but these school systems also tend to be aggressive on "fraud" from families living outside their jurisdiction who send their children to their schools for a better educational opportunity.

This mother and her father was put to trial for "defrauding" the school system for two years, amounting to what they said was $30,500 in taxes.

The judge after sentencing said that the mother had to be made an example "so that others who think they might defraud the school system perhaps will think twice."

Disgusting. I think this illustrates excellently the issues with public education in the United States, with property rates dictating the quality of it so much that children living in poor neighborhoods have no real chance at education.

[Catmatic Leftist]

Minorities always get treated like second-class citizens. It's such a shame that the bourgeoisie is still living in the pre-1960s.

[Robocommie]

It's amazing how completely brazenly the judge is saying, "The good schools are only for people who live in the good neighborhoods."

[Cheung Mo]

What a fucking joke. Education needs to be funded through central planning rather than through local taxation, which inherently creates a virtuous cycle of privilege in the affluent regions and a vicious circle of dependency among their disadvantaged neighbours. The FAR-RIGHT did this in Ontario, and it was still a good idea (as for their other ideas though...).

This woman is a hero, not a criminal.

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

Bankers get away with billions, and they pick on this poor woman...:(

[Ocean Seal]

This mother and her father was put to trial for "defrauding" the school system for two years, amounting to what they said was $30,500 in taxes.

This judge should learn that education belongs to everyone and second why are the bourgeoisie charged with defrauding the working class, since they take an abhorrent amount of money from their labor.

[Delenda Carthago]

It's amazing how completely brazenly the judge is saying, "The good schools are only for people who live in the good neighborhoods."
What is amazing is what the Left over there is leaving unanswered.

[Robocommie]

What is amazing is what the Left over there is leaving unanswered.

Well I wish there was an alternative, but frankly the United States is not Greece, and it's unfair of you to expect us to have the same revolutionary situation that you do. We're a post-colonial viper's nest of racism, capitalism, and hegemonic propaganda.

[Delenda Carthago]

Well I wish there was an alternative, but frankly the United States is not Greece, and it's unfair of you to expect us to have the same revolutionary situation that you do. We're a post-colonial viper's nest of racism, capitalism, and hegemonic propaganda.
there there...

dont cry litle american.one day your nuts will get bigger like ours and then you ll show them who's da man!

man wtf are you talking about?something discusting and outrageous happens and you are telling me that you cannot do anything about it?this shit is only to defend your(not personal,in general) unwillingness to act.and i m not talking about political assasinations or riots like the dudes in Oakland in Oscar Grant case who act like its riot or nothing, but what the fuck are you telling me you cannot do anything?Yes you can. Go to the community and give away leaflets that declares your solidarity, post some posters, call for a solidarity demo or raise money to help the mother.Or do something else, i dunno.Shit in Greece didnt happened by having conversations on Marx and Bakunin.It took years of struggle and years of leaving nothing unanswered.If a worker dies while working,you do something about it. If people get fired, you do something about it.If a cop beats down a kid, you do something about it. If a court descides that poor people should be punished for their poverty, you definetly do something about it.I dont know what.Go burn a protestant church if you want and say that their morals and ethics are responsible for the judgement. i dunno.you know. and you...do something.

[Sir Comradical]

So wait, in the United States you have to send your kids to a school within your district?

[GPDP]

So wait, in the United States you have to send your kids to a school within your district?

Yup, unless you pay for a private school or go to a charter school.

I gotta say my parents did exactly what this woman did. As a result, I got to go to the best public elementary and middle schools. However, for high school, I would've rather gone to the one I actually was supposed to go to.

Still, it's horrible what they're doing here. No one should be jailed just because they're trying to give their kids an above-par education.

[Bardo]

I went to a school 3 towns over. Little did I know this was punishable by imprisonment. But afterall I'm a white guy

[Sir Comradical]

Yup, unless you pay for a private school or go to a charter school.

I gotta say my parents did exactly what this woman did. As a result, I got to go to the best public elementary and middle schools. However, for high school, I would've rather gone to the one I actually was supposed to go to.

Still, it's horrible what they're doing here. No one should be jailed just because they're trying to give their kids an above-par education.

So what this woman did is an entirely normal thing to do, as in it's common for a lot of parents to do the same? How is funding determined for public schools? Is it at the local level, the state level or the federal level? It seems to me like an American public school will only be as good as the district it's in meaning that poor areas will end up with bad schools?

[Ocean Seal]

there there...

dont cry litle american.one day your nuts will get bigger like ours and then you ll show them who's da man!

man wtf are you talking about?something discusting and outrageous happens and you are telling me that you cannot do anything about it?this shit is only to defend your(not personal,in general) unwillingness to act.and i m not talking about political assasinations or riots like the dudes in Oakland in Oscar Grant case who act like its riot or nothing, but what the fuck are you telling me you cannot do anything?Yes you can. Go to the community and give away leaflets that declares your solidarity, post some posters, call for a solidarity demo or raise money to help the mother.Or do something else, i dunno.Shit in Greece didnt happened by having conversations on Marx and Bakunin.It took years of struggle and years of leaving nothing unanswered.If a worker dies while working,you do something about it. If people get fired, you do something about it.If a cop beats down a kid, you do something about it. If a court descides that poor people should be punished for their poverty, you definetly do something about it.I dont know what.Go burn a protestant church if you want and say that their morals and ethics are responsible for the judgement. i dunno.you know. and you...do something.

Unfortunately, people just think that you're crazy when you do that here. They'll say that she deserves to go to jail because they paid more taxes than her and she "cheated the system".

Look, at my supposedly liberal school I tried to raise awareness about the immigration law in Arizona and how Hispanics were being treated as second class citizens.

Their response: Illegals aren't entitled to the same protections under the police. Why is it a big deal if Hispanics have to carry their documents? The majority of illegals are Hispanics and if they want to start being treated better they should stop coming over illegally (never mind the fact that Hispanics aren't a hive mind and thus can't control each others actions). And this is considering the fact that my school is largely composed of children of immigrants and "liberals".


If a worker dies while working,you do something about it. If people get fired, you do something about it.If a cop beats down a kid, you do something about it. If a court descides that poor people should be punished for their poverty, you definetly do something about it.

If a worker dies, they'll say it was of natural causes and move on. If people get fired they'll say it is the market. If a cop beats down a kid they'll say he provoked them. If someone is punished for being poor, there won't be any sympathy because everyone in this country thinks that they're part of the upper class after decades of propaganda.

That shit happens all the time here. Especially the last one. I defend everyone's entitlement to the best possible education, but in the eyes of many Americans she is indefensible. Bigots like Glenn Beck will talk about her like she's a welfare queen and make it the argument for abolishing public school.


Go burn a protestant church if you want and say that their morals and ethics are responsible for the judgement.
They're not, and that's a terrible idea which will only isolate the predominately Protestant working class in this country.

I understand you're distaste for apathy. But here in most places apathy is all you get.

[Robocommie]

there there...

dont cry litle american.one day your nuts will get bigger like ours and then you ll show them who's da man!

man wtf are you talking about?something discusting and outrageous happens and you are telling me that you cannot do anything about it?this shit is only to defend your(not personal,in general) unwillingness to act.and i m not talking about political assasinations or riots like the dudes in Oakland in Oscar Grant case who act like its riot or nothing, but what the fuck are you telling me you cannot do anything?Yes you can. Go to the community and give away leaflets that declares your solidarity, post some posters, call for a solidarity demo or raise money to help the mother.Or do something else, i dunno.Shit in Greece didnt happened by having conversations on Marx and Bakunin.It took years of struggle and years of leaving nothing unanswered.If a worker dies while working,you do something about it. If people get fired, you do something about it.If a cop beats down a kid, you do something about it. If a court descides that poor people should be punished for their poverty, you definetly do something about it.I dont know what.Go burn a protestant church if you want and say that their morals and ethics are responsible for the judgement. i dunno.you know. and you...do something.

man what

Well first of all, it's in Akron. I don't live anywhere near Akron. Thanks for playing though. Also what's this condescending sexist tripe about testicles? And finally, trust me, shit like this happens all the fucking time and Americans let it slide. I don't know why. I've spent a lot of time trying to figure it out, but they do. Hell, we are the country that had a Presidential election in 2000, and the Supreme Court literally told the nation that the popular vote didn't really count. In most countries that would have caused a god-damn nationwide riot or some kind of Constitutional crisis. We had talk shows make jokes about it for a few months and then it was life as normal. This is the country that had a fire department allow a man's house to burn to the ground because he had forgotten to pay a fee - something like $75 dollars, to have fire coverage. They literally were at his house and watched it burn to the ground, waiting to make sure the fire didn't spread. He lost everything and they did nothing about it. And people all over the nation said that they did the right thing because if they had put the fire out, he would have been sponging off of his neighbors.

http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-national/glenn-beck-and-co-host-mock-man-whose-house-burned-down-tennessee

Seriously. This country is fucked up.

That said, it's not fair to say that nothing's being done. Stuff gets done by the Left all the time here. The fact is though, the far left is pretty marginal politically in this country.

[Delenda Carthago]

Unfortunately, people just think that you're crazy when you do that here. They'll say that she deserves to go to jail because they paid more taxes than her and she "cheated the system".

Look, at my supposedly liberal school I tried to raise awareness about the immigration law in Arizona and how Hispanics were being treated as second class citizens.

Their response: Illegals aren't entitled to the same protections under the police. Why is it a big deal if Hispanics have to carry their documents? The majority of illegals are Hispanics and if they want to start being treated better they should stop coming over illegally (never mind the fact that Hispanics aren't a hive mind and thus can't control each others actions). And this is considering the fact that my school is largely composed of children of immigrants and "liberals".



If a worker dies, they'll say it was of natural causes and move on. If people get fired they'll say it is the market. If a cop beats down a kid they'll say he provoked them. If someone is punished for being poor, there won't be any sympathy because everyone in this country thinks that they're part of the upper class after decades of propaganda.

That shit happens all the time here. Especially the last one. I defend everyone's entitlement to the best possible education, but in the eyes of many Americans she is indefensible. Bigots like Glenn Beck will talk about her like she's a welfare queen and make it the argument for abolishing public school.


They're not, and that's a terrible idea which will only isolate the predominately Protestant working class in this country.

I understand you're distaste for apathy. But here in most places apathy is all you get.
First of all, what "people"? Because I m sure that blacks and spanish and even poor whites would feel retalieted to the judge saying "good people to good neibourghs".
And secondly, of course in the begining people are gonna look at you like you are crazy.Because you dont do that, so your word doesnt spread, so the system's ideology is winning by far. So fuckin what?You gonna stop struggling?People in the States probably think you are nuts if you talk about communism too, that doesnt stop you from declaring one.And how you gonna keep up the flag if you are not spreading the word on every litle issue of everyday life?How people are gonna know what communists stand for?By theoritical debates?Fuck that.Its every day struggle that matters.
But all I see is people looking for excuses not to fight.The other day when I asked if you all gonna make a move for the tea party crazy motherfucker shooting I got no answer at all.Just think about it.You had a chance to form a democratic movement where you could A. corner the reaction and beat it to the ground and B. spread your word into that space.
And mothafuckas didnt even considered it!Matter of fact I talked to a friend of mine who is from the States and he laughed at me sayin that he doesnt care these people shooting each other!

Dude, I m telling you,USA movement needs lots and lots of steps to even become a movement-not even a threat to the System...

[Delenda Carthago]

And by the way, you are kiddin yourselves if you think the american people are not democraticly thinking.Considering we are talking about the biggest superpower in the world, USA people are far more progressive and democratic that you might excpect them to be. Back in the 60's and specially the 70's you had workin class and democratic movements that left their mark on your society.

Just ask a russian or a chinese comrade in here to tell you what their societies look like to see how a superpower creates consciousness for their people.

[Catmatic Leftist]

While what AttackGr is being a little harsh, he does have a point that the American leftist scene is quite pessimistic.

[Robocommie]

While what AttackGr is being a little harsh, he does have a point that the American leftist scene is quite pessimistic.

I don't disagree, but it's not like we got this way by magic.

[Amphictyonis]

Structural inequality racism and injustice. God bless America.

[Os Cangaceiros]

man what

Well first of all, it's in Akron. I don't live anywhere near Akron. Thanks for playing though. Also what's this condescending sexist tripe about testicles? And finally, trust me, shit like this happens all the fucking time and Americans let it slide. I don't know why. I've spent a lot of time trying to figure it out, but they do. Hell, we are the country that had a Presidential election in 2000, and the Supreme Court literally told the nation that the popular vote didn't really count. In most countries that would have caused a god-damn nationwide riot or some kind of Constitutional crisis. We had talk shows make jokes about it for a few months and then it was life as normal. This is the country that had a fire department allow a man's house to burn to the ground because he had forgotten to pay a fee - something like $75 dollars, to have fire coverage. They literally were at his house and watched it burn to the ground, waiting to make sure the fire didn't spread. He lost everything and they did nothing about it. And people all over the nation said that they did the right thing because if they had put the fire out, he would have been sponging off of his neighbors.

http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-national/glenn-beck-and-co-host-mock-man-whose-house-burned-down-tennessee

Seriously. This country is fucked up.

That said, it's not fair to say that nothing's being done. Stuff gets done by the Left all the time here. The fact is though, the far left is pretty marginal politically in this country.

It's also the country that had the longest and bloodiest class struggle out of any industrialized nation in history. sooooo....

(Has been said many times, and will continued to be said.)

And the far left is marginalized everywhere. The idea that Europe is some hornet's nest of leftist activity isn't true.

[L.A.P.]

I have a very similar situation going on with myself right now in which I have become the school board's ping pong ball. I wonder if I didn't come from an upper middle class family and had a lawyer representing me if my mom would be sent to jail?

[Robocommie]

It's also the country that had the longest and bloodiest class struggle out of any industrialized nation in history. sooooo....


I don't want to be set up with defending the position that it's hopeless, because I don't believe that and I've never really argued that. But I do want to ask how you would even go about measuring something like that?

[Amphictyonis]

the Supreme Court literally told the nation that the popular vote didn't really count.

We learned about the electoral college in high school :) But we didnt learn the fact representative 'democracy' in general is a sham. So not only do we really not even get to vote them in but whoever gets in isnt representing the people they're representing concentrated wealth. This is just basic knowlege 80%, no, 90% of Americans don't comprehend.

[GPDP]

We learned about the electoral college in high school :) But we didnt learn the fact representative 'democracy' in general is a sham. So not only do we really not even get to vote them in but whoever gets in isnt representing the people they're representing concentrated wealth. This is just basic knowlege 80%, no, 90% of Americans don't comprehend.

Actually, many, if not most of them do comprehend this. Maybe not in a very sophisticated sense, but most people do at least get the feeling that government does not really represent them, hence all the cynicism around politicians and government in general, as well as the relatively low voter turnout rate. The real problem is that they don't think anything can be done about it.

[Os Cangaceiros]

I don't want to be set up with defending the position that it's hopeless, because I don't believe that and I've never really argued that. But I do want to ask how you would even go about measuring something like that?

It's a point that's been mentioned by labor historians like Louis Adamic and Jeremy Brecher, and echoed by Trotsky (although I can't remember the exact...it's a quote where he talks about American workers being both extremely militant and extremely fragmented). They took into account the length of the industrial upheaval in the U.S. combined with the death toll that resulted from workplace actions like strikes and other things, I'd guess.

It wasn't ages ago, either. I just hate weepy oh-woe-is-us-we-live-in-such-a-reactionary-country rhetoric, regardless of who says it.

[Amphictyonis]

Actually, many, if not most of them do comprehend this. Maybe not in a very sophisticated sense, but most people do at least get the feeling that government does not really represent them, hence all the cynicism around politicians and government in general, as well as the relatively low voter turnout rate. The real problem is that they don't think anything can be done about it.

I don't think most Americans understand the fact representative democracy under capitalism is a facade hiding the golden rule that he who has the gold makes the rules. :) Most Americans think the government is 'evil' not because capitalists are using it to fuck us over but they think the state is being used by 'socialists'. Heck, even liberals have faith in the system. God, I argued with a liberal the other day and he just held on so tight to the belief "all we need is a third party". Grrr...

[Red Commissar]

It's a shame how people may react to things like this. Just like in cases with police brutality, media whips people up into siding against the mother in many cases. They'll do a busy job of trying to paint her as a welfare queen or other factors to marginalize her case even more.

Does it even strike people that some have to go to these lengths to even guarantee decent education for their children in the States? Shit like "Waiting for Superman" gets lauded, stuff like this pushed to the back ground.

[crazyirish93]

That judge deserves a right kicking seriously how can a person be so callous :cursing: .

[ChrisK]

Fuckers. Her children, and all children, deserve to have the best education possible. Capitalist bigwigs have no right any better education than anyone else.

[GPDP]

I don't think most Americans understand the fact representative democracy under capitalism is a facade hiding the golden rule that he who has the gold makes the rules. :) Most Americans think the government is 'evil' not because capitalists are using it to fuck us over but they think the state is being used by 'socialists'. Heck, even liberals have faith in the system. God, I argued with a liberal the other day and he just held on so tight to the belief "all we need is a third party". Grrr...

You are mistaken in taking the mainstream liberal narrative of Americans being right-wing dumbasses at face value. Polling indicates the opposite of what you are asserting. The majority of Americans do not feel government represents them, and in fact believe it to work in favor of the rich as opposed to everyone else. Most are in favor of increased government programs to aid the poor, increased funding for education and health care, increased taxation for the rich, etc.

So no, you are wrong. The only way you would get the impressions you have, which you then project to the American people as a whole, is by hanging out too much among liberal Democrats and watching the mainstream news channels.

[Robocommie]

You are mistaken in taking the mainstream liberal narrative of Americans being right-wing dumbasses at face value. Polling indicates the opposite of what you are asserting. The majority of Americans do not feel government represents them, and in fact believe it to work in favor of the rich as opposed to everyone else. Most are in favor of increased government programs to aid the poor, increased funding for education and health care, increased taxation for the rich, etc.


This is true, or at least in my experience.

[Red Commissar]

http://www.rippdemup.com/2011/01/jailed-akron-mom-kelley-williams-bolar.html?m=1

Mother was released by the court due to widespread condemnation of the sentence. More questions are coming up in the legal sense why the court went straight to felony charges.

[sologdin]

it's fairly blatant in this case.

copley and fairlawn are the two municipalities that make up the school district at issue herein--

copley: ~86% white, ~9% black, ~$55,000 median household income, ~$64,000 median family income.

fairlawn: ~89% white, ~6% black, ~$62,000 median household income, ~$79,000 median family income.

akron: ~67% white, ~28% black, ~$32,000 median household income, ~39,000 median family income.

the ohio board of education allows several forms of open enrollment in its public schools. all akron schools allow at least adjacent county open enrollment. copley-fairlawn is one of the few that does not allow any open enrollment. a comparison of the data, above, indicates why there is no open enrollment at fairlawn-copley. it is a brazen remnant of de jure segregation.

the other interesting tidbit is that various reports in the akron beacon journal indicate that it is the first such criminal prosecution for the designated offense in the history of summit county. generally, schools tend to matriculate the student who is improperly enrolled into a program in compliance with state statute, usually on a timeline that will attempt to ease the student into the new environment. some schools do invoice the offending parents for tuition, however.

one nasty bit that the local press appears to have missed is that the defendant in this matter was claiming the children as residents at her subsidized akron apartment in order to obtain the benefit of reduced rent while simultaneously claiming that they were resident in the allegedly aggrieved school district for the purposes of a tuition waiver.

the proper legal advice is to avoid this situation. that being said, it is a cruelty, born of race discrimination and the cold cash nexus, that compelled the defendant to choose between her children's education and housing.