BORDENTOWN, NJ – The Bordentown Regional School District changed its approach this school year to verify that students who attend district schools truly live within the district, Interim Superintendent Edward J. Forsthoffer said.
The modified approach appeared to follow concerns raised by some members of the public.
“I don't want to take anything from anyone who needs to be here legitimately,” Chasity Bauldree said during the August 6 school board meeting. “(But) we really need to be making it a top priority to make sure the kids in our schools live here and live at the houses they say they do.”
“I will admit I have not submitted, nor been asked to submit residency proof, since my son entered kindergarten and he's now going into fifth grade…. Nobody has ever checked in and that is something that needs to happen," added Kristen Kanickij during the same meeting.
The concerns the members of the public raised are valid in some situations, Forsthoffer said.
"There is always a possibility of someone using loopholes to attend school here while potentially residing somewhere else," Forsthoffer said in an email to a TAPinto Bordentown reporter. "From that standpoint, it is certainly legitimate."
The district will continue its previous approach to verifying residency when a student registers to attend a district school, the interim superintendent said.
“What we have implemented this year is that we require all families to confirm their residency every time they change school, at a minimum,” Forsthoffer continued. “This would mean they would confirm upon entering our school system, second grade, fourth grade, sixth grade and high school (and) times when someone alerts us that someone is abusing the system.”
Acceptable forms of documentation include a deed, lease, rental agreement or mail with a district address on it, Forsthoffer said.
The number of Bordentown students found to have violated the residency requirement was not immediately available when a TAPinto Bordentown reporter asked for such information in December.
“This would be difficult to answer because the new procedure is a modification of what we previously had,” the interim superintendent said.
Families of, or those otherwise responsible for, students found to be in violation of the residency requirement may be asked to pay tuition and/or back tuition, according to Forsthoffer.
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