Woodbridge schools cracking down on ‘illegal students’

Woodbridge school officials are cracking down on students attending their schools illegally.
Officials launched a task force last year to find students who were attending Woodbridge schools, but actually living in other towns across the state.
“We see kids leave school and walk to the train station. If you’re walking to the train station, you’re not living in Woodbridge,” says Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac.
The task force has investigated more than 1,800 cases this school year alone, according to officials. They say that in 89 causes it was found that the student was attending the school illegally.
“There was one from an hour south where the one parent was working here so they brought the kid to school,” McCormac says. “In some cases, more extreme cases, we went to court and were able to levy fines against the parents for the tuition that would’ve been paid had they done this properly.”
School officials say that there are strict requirements for registration, including proof of residency and signing a document acknowledging that falsifying proof is illegal.
Woodbridge residents say that they do not think that it is fair for others to take advantage.
“My taxes are high enough as it is, so having to pay for other kids isn’t exactly what I want to do,” says Elizabeth Farrell.
McCormac says that the crackdown will continue.
“I want [Woodbridge residents] to know we’re watching their tax dollars. We are diligent to make sure that if they’re giving us this money, we have to spend it appropriately,” he says.
The district says in the lawsuits they have filed that they were able to recoup more than $100,000 in unpaid tuition.