That’s exactly what Kelley Williams-Bolar did, pulling her 12- and 16-year-old daughters out of the decrepit school they attended in Akron, Ohio, and enrolling them in a suburban district where her father lived.
Williams-Bolar used her father’s address, where she alleges she lived part-time. Yet the Copely-Fairlawn School District felt she was lying about being a resident, and hired a private eye to follow her, videotaping Williams-Bolar leaving her public housing home and dropping her children off at the suburban school.
They confronted Williams-Bolar, demanded that she repay the district $30,000, saying she didn’t have the right to have her daughters in the district since she wasn’t a taxpayer.
When she refused, Williams-Bolar was indicted on two felony charges, found guilty and sentenced to 10 days in prison. Because of the felonies on her record, the aspiring schoolteacher will never be able to enter the classroom….
Did Williams-Bolar break the law?
Yes. Was the sentence she was given fair? Of course not. And I dare say many of us, when faced with a school system that will put our children further and further behind the learning curve, would have a “by any means necessary” focus to ensure they had the best chance to succeed.