Kelley Williams-Bolar was sentenced to 11 days and placed on 3 year probation
Most would probably go to great lengths to ensure their child receives the best education possible. Unfortunately, an Ohio woman, who apparently didn’t live in a good school district OR possess the financial wherewithal to enroll her children in a private school, did the next best thing available and lied about her living address to a nearby school board in order to get her children enrolled in the local school system there. Kelley Williams-Bolars’ plan backfired, and now she has to deal with a felony conviction for the rest of her life.
Here is some background on the case:
Kelley Williams-Bolar was convicted of lying about her residency to get her daughters into a better school district.
Williams-Bolar decided four years ago to send her daughters to a highly ranked school in neighboring Copley-Fairlawn School District.
But it wasn’t her Akron district of residence, so her children were ineligible to attend school there, even though her father lived within the district’s boundaries.
The school district accused Williams-Bolar of lying about her address, falsifying records and, when confronted, having her father file false court papers to get around the system.
Williams-Bolar said she did it to keep her children safe and that she lived part-time with her dad. “When my home got broken into, I felt it was my duty to do something else,” Williams-Bolar said.
While her children are no longer attending schools in the Copley-Fairlawn District, school officials said she cheated because her daughters received a quality education without paying taxes to fund it. After the District discovered what she had done, they demanded that she pay back $30,000 to the system. Hmm, if she had $30,000.00 she obviously could have paid for her daughters education so clearly there was more of an agenda in prosecuting her.
Ultimately Williams-Bolar was indicted and convicted of lying and falsifying documents. While her method was wrong, there is no reason she should have received a felony conviction; something that will remain a part of her record for life unless she receives a Governor’s clemency or a Presidential pardon. Most should be outraged at the fact that this woman was convicted of something she could have easily received a fine for. In addition, because of this felony conviction, she will not be able to secure a teaching position which will surely have a negative impact on her family seeing as she is the sole provider. This is more of a waste of taxpayers dollars and maybe if schools were privatized, parents would have better choices of where to send their kids.
Do you believe this was a racist act by the board? If you were in her position, how you would have dealt with this plight? Leave us a comment.
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wow why would she have to serve jail time