You haven't thought that comment above through!
Most of the rental property I see advertised in the local paper is for 900-1500 dollars per month in rent. Additionally, I'm sure that most of the property will be sold out from under anyone renting them, sooner or later.
The low-income apartments here are mostly rented!

A house is not what they can afford or want!

What they want is to educate their kids much better than they were educated! There is no stomach for that happening in Clayton County, where schools are treated as a job fair more so than a no-nonsense school system!

Want to help?

...but educated Clayton residents who can afford to live here and pay taxes. Economic barriers to access housing is what is keeping us safe from an invasion of Clayton thugs in our schools. Everybody owning rental property (including myself), we might thye last line of defense to prevent our schools going down the drains.
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Making you think twice......

If they pay there property Taxes in Clayton co. The the kids should go to Clayton Co. Car Tags also. The Tax office would know for sure.
Same for Fayette. It is what County you pay your taxes in is where your kids go to school.

yeah, sik the tax dogs on em!!

I second what "suggarfoot" said.

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Caution - The Surgeon General has determined that constant blogging is an addiction that can cause a sedentary life style.

I hope the best for your daughter and you

Thank you very much! I have high hopes with her being in private school.

~K

for sharing this!

How about this statement: "In order to attend our schools, children must reside in the county; there are no exceptions." No exceptions? Yeah, right. I would invite those at the county offices to come and park at any one of the three Jenkins Road schools before and after school and just observe. Seriously, have any of you ever taken the time to see what the rest of us have been seeing for years? There are dozens of cars with Clayton and Fulton plates. I know, I know, some people drive their employer's cars to work, and some have just moved and haven't yet changed their car tag. Seriously, one only needs to see the sheer numbers of these cars to know there are indeed "exceptions" to the residency requirement, whether the county knows about them or not.

I know that is what they say, but lets get real. Do you or anyone you know, work in Clayton county? and get a Clayton county car given to you to drive home? Company cars have gone the way of the wind. I think they are just blowing smoke up your back side.

No, I don't know any Fayette County residents who drive a company car from Clayton County, but I do know someone who lives in Fayette but drives a company car with Coweta plates. So, a company car can certainly be a reason for out-of-county plates at our schools, but I sure don't believe there could be SO many Fayette residents who drive company cars from Fulton and Clayton and whose kids just happen to attend schools in north Fayette County. Just a hunch.

As a matter of fact I do work for a company that is located in Clayton County. And I do have a company car with a Clayton tag. I have had "nice soccer moms" flip me off when I have dropped my daughter off at school. We were both very happy when she turned 15 and could drive the cart to school this year. Don't be so quick to rush to judgment.

A 'nice soccer mom" flipped you off?? That is so funny. Did she have those Christian fish and the school's magnet on the back of her minivan?

Everyone has a movie camera these days, take a movie camera with you when you go to the school's to drop your kids off and start filming. You can get close ups of the kids getting out of the cars and also close ups of the license plates. Take the film to who ever is in charge of checking on the Children being legally in this school system. I believe our tax $'s can pay for a Marshall to check out these Movies. With a zoom you don't even have to leave your car.

On another note. I don't know why people do not like trailers at the schools. Instead of building more schools they should be putting more trailers in if enough space exists. What difference does it make where kids are taught as long as it is a class room. You can have a class outside, it doesn't make a difference. Now we have a problem with not enough children to fill up some of the schools. If trailers would have been used all they would have had to do is haul the trailers away when finished with them. Who cares what they look like, most are nice inside... Our hard earned money spent needlessly on schools when the money could have gone for more teachers, parapros, school supplies, etc. Lets not forget we also have that extra 100 acres way down in Inman. Wonder how many school trailers we can get on that? Children grow up and one day some of these schools will be closing because there won't be enough children to keep them open. Believe me those closed schools are not pleasing to the eye.

I hope the school board takes some of the suggestions to heart about the computers, saving on fuel, etc. $1000 for a computer this day and age, especially a desk top, is outrageous.. Evidently the school board must have so much money, (actually our money) cost is no object. Out to lunch...who knows. Someone better get on the ball and start doing some checking on costs because the money tree won't be producing as it use to.

I have been told that they cannot run license plate numbers, they have to investigate by student's name. So, capture the tag and the face of the student. Take the picture to the office and get the student's name. Give the county the tag number AND the student's name!

Well, you could wear a sheet, stand where you can be seen, and yell: go to your own school!!

There aren't enough Section 8 homes in Fayette County to meet that kind of demand.

I never did hear of anyone else being prosecuted since that one high-profile case a few years ago, even though the BOE claims to have removed many other students since then. Have there been any other prosecutions? The affidavits are a big part of the problem, because you are relying on the parents to be honest. While some parents undoubtedly have justifiable reasons for needing affidavits, there are many who will lie to get their kids in Fayette County schools. It would be interesting to know the numbers of students on affidavits at each Fayette County school.

We have some neighbors, sisters, that both live in the same house and each of them has one child in school. One sister owns the house but the other has lived there for years, sending her daughter to school here. Since the home isn't hers, she isn't leasing nor does she have utilities in her name, she has an affidavit signed by her sister to keep her daughter in school. That's fine...she really lives here. But think of all the other "sisters" "grandparents", etc. that live here that think it's OK to sign fraudulent affidavits so their little relatives can experience a Fayette county education. I say EVERYONE in school on an affidavit needs a visit from the county to make sure the kid actually lives there!

How about you doing the 40,000 first visits and then we will get someone else to follow-up for the ones who weren't at home?

Will you take the word of the person there as to who lives there? Wasn't that the same word already given?

Will you have your list of those who live in another county but their children are allowed to go to Fayette due to employment, etc.?

No matter what you do, if they want to go here they can and will.
You will scare no one!

Now if you want we can require pre-registration every year where positive identity is established for every potential student and then they are given a computer chip in the shoulder for I.d. at school!

We would have to hire Halliburton to do the research and the chips!

Thanks, Hutch for trying to enlighten this dolt. How many students does Bonk think we have in Fayette County? First off, I would not take the pay cut to be a government school watchdog, but just for laughs - sure, I'd join every other concerned parent here that reports abuse of tax dollars.

Secondly, an investigator would not "take the word" of anyone. They would be "investigating" the home and talking to neighbors, etc. As for anyone being scared, that's where the D.A. comes in. If he were presented with cases of people abusing our system, then he should prosecute them. The cost of prosecuting a few of these cases would be worth it if it stopped the out-of-county influx.

Lastly, Boinker, just because a task is difficult does not mean it is not worth doing. Of course for you, that may be the case. I'm not saying 100% of this type of fraud can be stopped. There will always be those out there that want something for nothing, but as a society we can't give up or given in to them because it may take effort on our part. BTW, I'd love to have a microchip in my sons. I'd like a lo-jack system for the 5 year old in case he is ever stolen and for the 16 year old I'd prefer one that emits a small electrical charge if/when he talks back. I bet if your mother had that option with you, she'd taken it.

Well, I see that you don't want the job due to pay, but want some other low-pay dolt to do the job by investigating the neighbors of 25,000 or so kids?
Did I get that right?
Hutch "enlighten?" My, you don't know him, do you?
You want to "join" other concerned parents, do you? In what way, a social club?

By "sikkin" the DA on those who make one afraid, he would "come in," you say! Like he does now, I assume?

"Stopping the influx (not the black kids) would be nice you think! Or did you mean them also? I'll bet you did!

I don't think we ought to "given" in to them neither. Let's me and you "take" the effort you mention? I'll do 10,000 if you will!
Surely you won't lose too much money from your magnificent salary by doing just 10,000 door knocks and investigating the neighbors and getting the DA to come here, there! Or was it to "come in?"
A 16 and a 5, so that is what is wrong with you? I'm sorry.

Were you a short bus rider? What part of "not all students use an affidavit as proof of residency" are you not comprehending? As for "that's where the D.A. comes in", it means that is when he gets involved, or comes into the equation. Since it seems you have a problem with math and English, I guess your Mom left you in a crappy school system, like the kids we're discussing in ClayCo. You are proof that children need all the education they can get.

As for having a 5 & 16 yr old, how does that make something wrong with me? My 5 yr old demonstrates better communication and comprehension skills than you do.

"Short bus rider?" Never was short, nor a bus rider!

"Affidavit," I take it is, in this case, just a statement that says their child is eligible to attend in Fayette? So, no investigation, calls, home raiding, neighbor questioning, DA calling, for them (you have a list I presume)?

"Comes in" means "involved in the equation," does it? How would he or she do that? Maybe the Sheriff, huh?

If children need all the education that they can get, as you say, why leave all those thousands in Clayco, as you say?

Your child's comprehension skills hopefully are better than yours.

Cut through the rhetoric, the voicing, the threatening, the lawing, and the yammering, and help solve the problem!

Should have known that one sensible post re: mowers was not the real Bonkers. Evidently someone stole his identity for a short period of time. The Bonkers we all know and try to love is back--mass confusion, asinine statements, etc. Knew it was too good to be true.

Mowers made sense to you?
Muddle asked for advice, I gave him my best!
What has that got to do with other things that I comment about?
I have an ability to consider items one at a time and call them as they are!
I am not a neocon---go along all of the time! Even with a useless VP pick!

OMG, you are just exhausting. The only reply I have to your banality is that an affidavit is used IN PLACE of proof of residency and the parent doesn't submit it, the landlord/property owner does. Lying on a sworn affidavit is comparable to perjury, and therefore illegal and a punishable offense. With your (lack of) logic, you should be on the ClayCo school board. Peace Out you crazy person.

Sorry to exhaust you! Wouldn't the property owner be the parent in many cases?
You apparently are assuming that you can "spot" those who don't own a home! Profiling, my, my.

I know it ticks you off that I am really saying what you are thinking, not what you are saying!

We want our students in school with my kids, not "their" students, whomever "they" are!
The money isn't the thing, is it?

First off, there are only about 22,000 kids in our system, second off, they all don't have affidavits. What's your problem with verification? You must own stock in Halliburton the way you always want them hired for stuff.

I yam what I yam....Popeye

105,000 people (about 50,000 couples) only have .40 kids each family?

We must have a lot of single dudes and dudesses.

Anyway, I assume you just volunteered to contact and verify the 22,000 I take it? Or will you "profile?"

Third off, you think maybe some of the people that were counted in the census were...... maybe........wait for it........kids to begin with? Fourth off, maybe some of the people who were counted were maybe......here it comes......senior citizens, who I might add, unlike you, don't have their heads so far up their butts that they can do their own self-colonoscopy.

I yam what I yam....Popeye

Why would someone who works within the schools and knows about out-of-county students not report those students? You're right about the current method of verification not working. Hasn't worked in years. I've always thought there must be other school systems out there that have the same problem yet, unlike Fayette County, have found a way to verify residency.

When Kindergarten registration happened this year we were out of town, so I had to go to the "Welcome Center" to register my son. While there, I witnessed a black woman trying to enroll her daughter. She had a hand written "lease" for a house as her proof of residency. The welcome center staff cut her absolutely no slack. She was told that the owner of the house/landlord would have to come to the welcome center and fill out and sign an affidavit that she was renting the house. She started yelling that the homeowner was a doctor in Buckhead and she didn't have time to come down here for that. After several minutes of embarrassing herself and her daughter, she grabbed her paperwork and cussing like a sailor stormed out of the welcome center. I hope this was the same scene for the other out-of-towners that tried what she did.

I've had kids in this school system for 14 years and I regulary have to submit to the proof of residency 10th degree. I don't mind at all. The ones that do mind need a visit from someone from the FCBOE. How hard could it be to drive to the so-called residence and see if the student really lives there? I think the main problem is relatives letting their address be used. If a few of these relatives were to be prosecuted, it might stop. Until then, we tax payers keep footing the bill.

People can live where they want to live!

This is the USA!

People MAY live where they choose, if they can afford it!

With our Fayette County tax dollars!

Seems like you know. So name Names. Let everyone know who it is that is doing that. I will be happy to prove my residence. But this year, no one has asked.

Again, tell who is an out-of-county student.

Put the names here on-line. I am sure those out-of-county kids will not be at school next week.

When both of my kids started school this year not one question was asked about proof of residency, Not One Word, Hmmmm!

Re: you not having to provide proof of residency for your students this year

In years past, we Fayette County residents had to provide proof of residency every year we had children in the school system, and we had to do it for each child, no matter the grade or school. I was more than happy to send in our utility bill each year.

A few years ago, I was told the "system" of yearly proving residency would be changing to parents having to send in proof only when their children were changing schools - meaning from elementary to middle or middle to high school.

To me, that's a lot of years non-residents can slip through the cracks and attend our schools without detection.

I'm all for providing proof each and every year, just to help close that gap at our county line.

Not even their name, address, and parents?

How did they know they weren't illegals?

They may be teaching some Taliban!

The BOE is going through the process now. The term used is called "leveling." It takes time, the concern is if prior to the completion of leveling, Sonny Perdue makes a ruling that the following counties will have placements from Clayton County Schools, our teachers are going to be over-whelmed tremendously. With the budget cuts in place, where is the extra money to pay for the extra teachers coming from? That's the real question. Who will be funding these counties taking these kids?

I will not pay for educating Clayton County kids, nor over-working our teachers- should be our slogan!

If Sonny decides to shove those kids down our throats, I dought the good Republicans(of which I am)of this county will go out of their way to re-elect him.

"Fayette needs to remain unflinching in their position. It's time for people to start taking responsibility for their choices and for their actions." It is my understanding that the surrounding counties may not have a choice when Sonny Perdue makes his reccomendations. Fayette BOE can make a statement that we are not taking out of district kids now, but in reality, when the Governor states we must, we will have no say so to do otherwise. Your voice needs to be heard now!

This is not just an acedimic loss, it is all departments...including all sports. Also, teachers will find it harder to continue certification from an un-credited school system. Parents in Clayton County who pay taxes have a voice and we as high tax payers better voice our opinions to all concerned. Because you know Clayton parents are voicing now.

I agree that we as Fayette County should NOT have to bail out Clayton County. My children go to Whitewater High and Whitewater Middle. I do not want Clayton County kids around my children. So there I said it. I know everyone is thinking the same thing. As for the Clayton County parents, you bought it.

Nobodys perfect, everybody makes errors.

Thanks Ben for all of your hard work!

We are still talking about GA public schools which consistently rank in the bottom 5 states out of 50 so apparently the little paper given by SACS doesn't really mean much in my humble opinion. All these posts sound more like disguised racists not wanting the black people from Clayco coming to school with their kids. I pay taxes for your kids attending these so called wonderful Fayette County schools even though I don't send my own kids to them. I am not disagreeing with the concept of keeping kids within their own district. I just find it disheartening that in 2008 southern racism is still so alive and well even in the "upscale" neighborhoods. I wonder if all this call for policing and checking residency, etc. would be happening if the neighboring county were predominately white and high income?

Choosing to send your children to another school is your right, if you wish to pay for that education . If you are a tax paying resident of a county you have the right to have your children taught in that county. The decision is/was yours.

Some people look for racism where there is none. I have found that racism goes both ways. Some people look for it everywhere and manage to find it even when it does not exist. What is wrong with asking for proof that someone lives in the county they claim to live in and where they want to register their children? People of all colors, nationalities, political persuasions are all asked for such proof. What is racist about that?

Southern racism as played out in "upscale" neighborhoods is responsible for Clayton County's loss of accreditation?

As for your BS about policing and checking residency, I had to show the actual original copy of the deed to my house and identification when registering our child in school two years ago -- and I drove up in a Mercedez Benz, nice clothes AND white skin.

And I loved it. It felt great knowing that we'd just moved to an area that took such things seriously. Of course, I had no reason to be offended.

I said all the veiled indignation over out of county kids getting into Fayette schools sounded like southern racism due to the fact that a large portion of Clayton County school kids are minority. I said I doubted if all the demands for better residency checking would be so loud if the out of county people were of a different skin color and income bracket. I never said anything about racisim being responsible nor did I say that residency requirements shouldn't be conducted.

I just find it disheartening that in 2008 southern racism is still so alive and well even in the "upscale" neighborhoods. I wonder if all this call for policing and checking residency, etc. would be happening if the neighboring county were predominately white and high income?

Sure sounds like you are saying racism is responsible to me. You claim it's alive and well in upscale neighborhoods while talking in the context of Clayton Co students trying to get in and how you wonder about it happening if the kids were white. You didn't just say "sounded like;" you said "southern racism is alive and well." It's not a comprehension problem.

You said:

"I just find it disheartening that in 2008 southern racism is still so alive and well even in the "upscale" neighborhoods."

You put that in a post about Clayton County's loss of accreditation. If you didn't intend on it being part of that subject, you might well have started a thread for which whatever you were trying to communicate would have applied. Parsed and explained the way you've done, it really makes no sense.

Do you think Fayette County residents would be indignant -- veiled or otherwise -- if blacks, or any other group, were moving here and maintaining or improving quality of life?

But that won't happen. Under-educated and under-employed blacks will move here in greater numbers and our quality of life will diminish.

Do you think if blacks tended to drive up SAT scores and had a neutral impact on crime that we'd not welcome them?

America has -- rightly -- moved away from sortation by color and focuses more on shared interest in quality of life.

That you will take the time to discern the difference between those who do "drive up SAT test scores and have a neutral impact on crime", from those who don't. Perhaps you can and do, but I don't think all posters here have demonstrated that ability.

Based on the last two comments to my statements, apparently I was correct. Remember, a rose by any other name is still a rose!!!