Woman jailed for sending her kids to a good school

jackiebaron

The US legal system strikes again with its penchant for cruelty:

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/allison-kilkenny/33902/american-apartheid

I can't wait to hear the rationalisations of those who want to point the finger of blame at this misfortunate mother.

starbelgrade

Stupid mom.

Go to jail.

Agonist

.............
An Ohio mother of two was sentenced to 10 days in jail and placed on three years probation after sending her kids to a school district in which they did not live. Kelly Williams-Bolar was sentenced by Judge Patricia Cosgrove on Tuesday and will begin serving her sentence immediately.

The jury deliberated for seven hours and the courtroom was packed as the sentence was handed down. She was convicted on two counts of tampering with court records after registering her two girls as living with Williams Bolar's father when they actually lived with her. The family lived in the housing projects in Akron, Ohio, and the father's address was in nearby Copley Township.

Williams-Bolar is poor, black, and she was attempting to send her children to a better school outside of the district where they live. It’s not as though she resided near a great school, and chose to forgo that option out of some kind of stubbornness or hatred for the law. Quite literally, if she wanted to send her kids to a good school, she had no other options available. It was stay trapped, or escape, and she chose to escape.

I’m sure there are some who will say Williams-Bolar should have chosen a legal way to help her children. Perhaps pursue higher education and move her family to a district with more available resources. Such a social upgrade could take years, but Williams-Bolar was attempting to do that very thing. She was studying to become a teacher, though this ruling now dashes any hope of her finding work. This consequence isn’t simply an unhappy byproduct. The judge almost seemed to smugly bask in the pernicious effect.

ejmaztec

That'll teach her

The Waltzing Consumer

From a less biased and more credible source:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/ohio-mom-jailed-sending-kids-school-district/story?id=12763654&page=1

TheZohanS

jackiebaron wrote: »

Woman jailed for sending her kids to a good school

No she wasn't. Read the article.

She was convicted on two counts of tampering with court records

starbelgrade

TheZohan wrote: »

No she wasn't. Read the article.

There's an article?

AnonoBoy

Mother jailed for thinking of the children?

I don't need to read this article I know it's a disgrace, that's what you get when you separate church and state and stop saying prayers in the morning. It's all the abortions and sex-ed that's going on. And the gays. It's probably the gays' fault somehow too.

Won't somebody please think of the.... etc. etc.

thebigbiffo

stupid americans

ejmaztec

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Mother jailed for thinking of the children?

I don't need to read this article I know it's a disgrace, that's what you get when you separate church and state and stop saying prayers in the morning. It's all the abortions and sex-ed that's going on. And the gays. It's probably the gays' fault somehow too.

Won't somebody please think of the.... etc. etc.

The gay guys are complaining that they can't have abortions because of prejudice.

stovelid

"Copley Township" ftw.

Sounds like a town in a 60s film that you get busted in for having long hair in a diner with the arresting officer informing you that you'd picked the wrong town to haul ass through.

LighterGuy

:rolleyes:

1, its the americans.
2, all she was doing was lying for the benefit of her kids. (in order for them to go to a better school)

El Horseboxo

But yet it's fine some rich white folk to bribe their way into high schools and universities with donations.

bonerm

America. A Brave New World.

whiteonion

She obviously broke some law but the system seems to punish poor black people harder than rich white people.

mikom

jackiebaron wrote: »

The US legal system strikes again with its penchant for cruelty:

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/allison-kilkenny/33902/american-apartheid

I can't wait to hear the rationalisations of those who want to point the finger of blame at this misfortunate mother.

She left the keys in the car and the engine running?

Cavehill Red

This isn't a victimless crime.
There's some kid whose parents played by the rules who didn't get the place in that school they deserved thanks to this woman's shenanigans.
But as always it's fascinating to see the general endorsement of breaking the rules to suit yourself coming from Irish people.
Gombeen culture clearly hasn't died out with the demise of Fianna Fail.

jackiebaron

Cavehill Red wrote: »

This isn't a victimless crime.
There's some kid whose parents played by the rules who didn't get the place in that school they deserved thanks to this woman's shenanigans.
But as always it's fascinating to see the general endorsement of breaking the rules to suit yourself coming from Irish people.
Gombeen culture clearly hasn't died out with the demise of Fianna Fail.

Well CR, some rules are just plain dumb and ought to be scrapped. This school zoning rule that she tried to get around is quite obviously both nefarious and draconian. Why should she be excluded from sending her kids to a decent school. The rule that they can only attend the "drop-out factory" in their neighbourhood is simply to keep the poor (read: blacks) in their place.

In Dublin I went to a CB school in Marino. There were lads in my class from places like North Strand, Swords, Artane, Santry, Clontarf, Malahide, etc.
There were many schools in their own districts that they could have attended but their parents (were allowed to) put their sons' names on the list and they gained admittance when the time came and so these lads got a good education and went on to college or to better jobs than they would have gotten had they attended kips like North Strand Tech or Plunkett's or some of the other stalags in the surrounding vicinities.

The woman broke the rules (a disgusting, punitive and prejudicial rule at that). But wrecking her life and the lives of her kids is a bit sadistic, quite frankly.

Bloody Nipples

Cavehill Red wrote: »

This isn't a victimless crime.
There's some kid whose parents played by the rules who didn't get the place in that school they deserved thanks to this woman's shenanigans.
But as always it's fascinating to see the general endorsement of breaking the rules to suit yourself coming from Irish people.
Gombeen culture clearly hasn't died out with the demise of Fianna Fail.

Really? I'd love to meet this kid, on the grounds that kids have to attend school by school district in the US. As long as he lived in the school district that this unfortunate woman tried to pretend her kids lived in, he would have been legally obliged to go to school there. So yes you're right about gombeen culture as you've so ably shown.

Ronin247

In parts of America each local area takes a property tax from each resident and these taxes pay for stuff like schools,fire department and a raft of other services.This tax varies and is on top of your normal state (or income) tax.
This woman paid taxes in a cheap area but wanted to avail of the better facilities in a high tax area.The old well worn defence of "it's because I'm black" doesn't seem to have worked for her. It isnt about colour its about theft of services.

Cavehill Red

Bloody Nipples wrote: »

Really? I'd love to meet this kid, on the grounds that kids have to attend school by school district in the US. As long as he lived in the school district that this unfortunate woman tried to pretend her kids lived in, he would have been legally obliged to go to school there. So yes you're right about gombeen culture as you've so ably shown.

If you want to meet those kids, go visit the other schools in that district and ask the parents if their kids failed to get into that school where this woman had placed her kids illegitimately. You'll find them easily enough.

Bloody Nipples

Cavehill Red wrote: »

If you want to meet those kids, go visit the other schools in that district and ask the parents if their kids failed to get into that school where this woman had placed her kids illegitimately. You'll find them easily enough.

I think you're making things up.

Mike 1972

Cavehill Red wrote: »

But as always it's fascinating to see the general endorsement of breaking the rules to suit yourself coming from Irish people. Gombeen culture clearly hasn't died out with the demise of Fianna Fail.

Oh yes the selfish bitch wanting a decent (and safe) education for her kids. Hang her and Flog her and Hang her AGAIN :rolleyes:

The schools in question are funded by the taxpayer. The fact that some are "better" than others just demonstrates how rotten and corrupt the system is.

Ronin247 wrote: »

This woman paid taxes in a cheap area but wanted to avail of the better facilities in a high tax area.The old well worn defence of "it's because I'm black" doesn't seem to have worked for her. It isnt about colour its about theft of services.

More likely it was not so much down to taxes as a case of it being an area where house prices/rents were higher mainly because the schools were better.

Bloody Nipples

Ronin247 wrote: »

In parts of America each local area takes a property tax from each resident and these taxes pay for stuff like schools,fire department and a raft of other services.This tax varies and is on top of your normal state (or income) tax.
This woman paid taxes in a cheap area but wanted to avail of the better facilities in a high tax area.The old well worn defence of "it's because I'm black" doesn't seem to have worked for her. It isnt about colour its about theft of services.

So you can't see how wealthy people in an affluent area will therefore get a much better school than a poor area on the basis of increased tax revenue. The poor will then get a comparatively crap school and as a result a comparatively crap education thus further perpetuating the social divide?

It's a ridiculous system.
Trying to subvert it is common sense.

Cavehill Red

Bloody Nipples wrote: »

I think you're making things up.

You think schools have infinite capacities or something?

Shelli2

Cavehill Red wrote: »

If you want to meet those kids, go visit the other schools in that district and ask the parents if their kids failed to get into that school where this woman had placed her kids illegitimately. You'll find them easily enough.

So what school did those kids go to? Surely if you are legally obliged to attend school in your home district, then that school is obliged to have a place for you, so I doubt her kids going to the school stopped anyone else going there!

Fight_Night

whiteonion wrote: »

She obviously broke some law but the system seems to punish poor black people harder than rich white people.

:rolleyes:

She broke the law, she was not paying the taxes for that school and therefore she deserves to be punished. If it was a white mother the same thing would have happened.

Cavehill Red

Bloody Nipples wrote: »

It's a ridiculous system.
Trying to subvert it is common sense.

Gombeen culture.

RichieC

Bloody Nipples wrote: »

So you can't see how wealthy people in an affluent area will therefore get a much better school than a poor area on the basis of increased tax revenue. The poor will then get a comparatively crap school and as a result a comparatively crap education thus further perpetuating the social divide?

It's a ridiculous system.
Trying to subvert it is common sense.

That's the idea.

jackie1974

If her district provided a decent school she wouldn't have had to break the law. Any mother wants to give her children the best chance in life. She couldn't afford to live in the best area but she wanted her children to have the best education possible so they could have a better future. How can anybody fault that.

I would do it in a second if I lived in the kind of elitest society that they live in. Education is a human right not a birth right. Would she be going to jail if she had more money or was white, definitely not. It's the American way keep the poor down in the gutter otherwise the well off would have nobody to look down their nose at.

Bloody Nipples

Cavehill Red wrote: »

You think schools have infinite capacities or something?

No, I think that as you're obliged to attend the schools in your school district they're obliged to have a place for you. Seeing as it's the law and all.

If both Kelly Williams-Bolar's children and your hypothetical child were registered in the same school district they would be obliged to be educated in the same school district. Sure Williams-Bolar's children would have put the extra strain of 2.xx kids (assuming the american average) on the school's facilities but if I was in her position and it was a choice between that or sending them to the local drop out factory (to steal a phrase), I (and I'm sure many others) would do the same.

Ronin247

Bloody Nipples wrote: »

So you can't see how wealthy people in an affluent area will therefore get a much better school than a poor area on the basis of increased tax revenue. The poor will then get a comparatively crap school and as a result a comparatively crap education thus further perpetuating the social divide?

It's a ridiculous system.
Trying to subvert it is common sense.

It is called capitalism.I would move to a better area to get my kids a better education,it may cost a bit more but it is an investment.

Are you saying its ok to steal services,cant afford SKY just steal it,Neighbour has a better car? rob a few houses to buy yourself one.I was brought up to believe if I couldnt afford it I could save up or do without.

JONJO THE MISER

Only in America...

bonerm

Cavehill Red wrote: »

But as always it's fascinating to see the general endorsement of breaking the rules to suit yourself coming from Irish people.
Gombeen culture clearly hasn't died out with the demise of Fianna Fail.

I don't think people are condoning the crime so much as criticising the system that causes the person to commit the crime.

Due to unusual circumstances I went to primary school in an area that wasn't where I lived. For secondary I was local again and ended up in with the very same kids I should have by rights spent 8 years of primary with. By that point most of them were already well on the way to becoming impressive little gurriers & proud underachievers (markedly different kids to the ones I'd left behind in my own primary school - and this wasn't a private school or anything, just in a diff place). Thankfully by that age I'd already seen some of life from a certain perspective and learnt to survive by staying away from certain people/groups that may have at the time seemed attractive or popular in this environment.

To this day I still consider my primary years the best of my life and my secondary ones the worst. Based on what I've seen/heard I've some doubts that had I gone to my local primary school I doubt that I'd have followed the same moral path or that I'd be the same person I am today. But I guess by your rational having me go where perhaps I 'should have' was the correct outcome. However I'd have to disagree from a personal pov.

Mike 1972

Ronin247 wrote: »

It is called capitalism.I would move to a better area to get my kids a better education

Anyone can dine at the Ritz :rolleyes:

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Only in America...

There was a case in Britain a couple of years back and Im pretty sure it happens in Ireland too.

Fight_Night

jackie1974 wrote: »

If her district provided a decent school she wouldn't have had to break the law. Any mother wants to give her children the best chance in life. She couldn't afford to live in the best area but she wanted her children to have the best education possible so they could have a better future. How can anybody fault that.

I would do it in a second if I lived in the kind of elitest society that they live in. Education is a human right not a birth right. Would she be going to jail if she had more money or was white, definitely not. It's the American way keep the poor down in the gutter otherwise the well off would have nobody to look down their nose at.

Capitalism is a bitch when you're on the bottom but that is the way it is. The other families in the richer district were paying for her kids education that is no matter how you look at it, stealing. Were her intentions good? Yes but that is not the point.

Cavehill Red

Bloody Nipples wrote: »

No, I think that as you're obliged to attend the schools in your school district they're obliged to have a place for you. Seeing as it's the law and all.

If both Kelly Williams-Bolar's children and your hypothetical child were registered in the same school district they would be obliged to be educated in the same school district. Sure Williams-Bolar's children would have put the extra strain of 2.xx kids (assuming the american average) on the school's facilities but if I was in her position and it was a choice between that or sending them to the local drop out factory (to steal a phrase), I (and I'm sure many others) would do the same.

All you're really telling me is that you would be prepared to commit fraud rather than pay money (via private education or increased taxes) to fund your child's education.
As I said, that's gombeen thinking and it's why this country is largely ruined.

jackie1974

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Anyone can dine at the Ritz :rolleyes:

As Marie Antoinette would say 'Let them eat cake'

Bloody Nipples

Ronin247 wrote: »

It is called capitalism.I would move to a better area to get my kids a better education,it may cost a bit more but it is an investment.

Are you saying its ok to steal services,cant afford SKY just steal it,Neighbour has a better car? rob a few houses to buy yourself one.I was brought up to believe if I couldnt afford it I could save up or do without.

You can do without Sky or a car. Missing the boat on an education pretty much screws you for life.

I'm not advocating theft here, it's an unfair system.

jackie1974

Fight_Night wrote: »

Capitalism is a bitch when you're on the bottom but that is the way it is. The other families in the richer district were paying for her kids education that is no matter how you look at it, stealing. Were her intentions good? Yes but that is not the point.

Hey I thought you were 15, pretty perceptive for a 15 yr old

Bloody Nipples

Cavehill Red wrote: »

All you're really telling me is that you would be prepared to commit fraud rather than pay money (via private education or increased taxes) to fund your child's education.
As I said, that's gombeen thinking and it's why this country is largely ruined.

This is a black woman from a township and you're assuming she has money to spend.

She can't afford to privately educate her kids.
To go to a better run state school she would have to move to that school district. Houses cost money (Capitalism 101).

I actually can't finish this reply, I'm so mystified at your inability to get your head around social injustice.

Ronin247

Bloody Nipples wrote: »

You can do without Sky or a car. Missing the boat on an education pretty much screws you for life.

I'm not advocating theft here, it's an unfair system.

Do not delude yourself,you are advocating theft only you are dressing it up in moral outrage.
Yes the system is crappy sometimes but that doesnt give people the right to bypass it when it suits them.

Cavehill Red

Bloody Nipples wrote: »

This is a black woman from a township and you're assuming she has money to spend.

She can't afford to privately educate her kids.
To go to a better run state school she would have to move to that school district. Houses cost money (Capitalism 101).

I actually can't finish this reply, I'm so mystified at your inability to get your head around social injustice.

And the answer to her plight is to better her conditions by getting some employment and working at it, saving her money and moving to where her kids would be better educated.
The answer is not falsifying court documents and committing fraud.

Monty Burnz

She broke the rules, but the judgement is pretty harsh, considering that she was training to become a teacher and now she will not be allowed to qualify or teach at all.

Her family is goosed now.

Fight_Night

jackie1974 wrote: »

Hey I thought you were 15, pretty perceptive for a 15 yr old

Good education and whatnot

I do think that it's a difficult issue to deal with because as people say the education they receive will inevitably be worse in their district and as a result they may not go to College and will be stuck in that place and stay poor. It's understandable why the mother did this but if they let her do it then everyone will do it and thus a huge problem will be created.

I am a firm believer that if you work hard enough you can become anything you want to be, if they save money long enough they'll be able to afford a better education. They are at a disadvantage but it's not impossible. Wish them the best anyway.

Ronin247

Bloody Nipples wrote: »

This is a black woman from a township and you're assuming she has money to spend.

She can't afford to privately educate her kids.
To go to a better run state school she would have to move to that school district. Houses cost money (Capitalism 101).

I actually can't finish this reply, I'm so mystified at your inability to get your head around social injustice.

Here we go with the BLACK crap.The colour of her skin makes no difference,stop trying to bring colour into it.

Bloody Nipples

Ronin247 wrote: »

Do not delude yourself,you are advocating theft only you are dressing it up in moral outrage.
Yes the system is crappy sometimes but that doesnt give people the right to bypass it when it suits them.

By refusing to bypass a flawed system you are enabling it.

Monty Burnz

Cavehill Red wrote: »

And the answer to her plight is to better her conditions by getting some employment and working at it, saving her money and moving to where her kids would be better educated.
The answer is not falsifying court documents and committing fraud.

Well she had invested in that (the hard route) but presumably sending her kids to a crap school for a few years would have meant they were well behind the curve when she was able to move them to a good school. A lot of kids never recover if they fall behind their peers (for whatever reason).

Bloody Nipples

Ronin247 wrote: »

Here we go with the BLACK crap.The colour of her skin makes no difference,stop trying to bring colour into it.

Are you denying the fact that Blacks and Hispanics in America are more likely to end up in the prison system?

Just stop and consider the potential reasons for this.

Monty Burnz

Fight_Night wrote: »

I am a firm believer that if you work hard enough you can become anything you want to be

That's a heartwarming belief, but it's not true as I'm sure you know.*

*Says failed tennis professional.

mikemac

10 days jail is not a big deal

The fact her future career as a teacher is now destroyed is a massive issue. She'll have to retrain for something else and this conviction for fraud will follow her for the rest of her life.
I wouldn't hire a person convicted for fraud even if people deserve second chances.

So if she struggles to get a job, it may mean years on welfare for her and the children.

The jail time is the easiest part of her punishment