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By now you've probably heard about Kelley Williams-Bolar, the Ohio mom who was sentenced to 10 days in jail because she lied about her address so her two daughters could attend a better school. Her story has captivated -- and outraged -- people across the country.
Williams-Bolar, a 40-year-old African-American single mom, told the school she and her kids lived at her dad’s address, which would give her kids legitimate entry into a highly ranked, predominantly white school. Her daughters have been attending the school since 2006, but when officials learned she falsified her address, she was ordered to pay the school district $30,000 in back tuition. Williams-Bolar fought back and ended up not only being sentenced to jail, but given 80 hours of community service and two years of probation.
On Monday, grand theft charges against Williams-Bolar were dismissed, but she still faces felony charges. She also faces losing her job as a special education assistant at a high school, along with future hopes of being a teacher (she's just 12 credit hours away from getting her teaching certificate).
As you can imagine, the blogosphere (and our own iVillage community) is abuzz with this news, with most parents siding with the mom. “She was crucified because she is African American and poor. Now thanks to this, they have guaranteed that she will always be poor and on public assistance, so I call BS on the rationalization that they are trying to save the taxpayers money,” one iVillage community member wrote. Posted another: “People do this in our area all the time and in most cases you can arrange it based on where your child's daycare is. I can't imagine doing jail time for it!”
But others, including one Akron journalist, say “fraud is fraud” -- although some posters disagree on the severity of the punishment Williams-Bolar deserves. “I think if you're going to commit a crime, you have to be prepared for the consequences, plain and simple,” one iVillage community member wrote. “But that said, I really do feel for her. She wanted a better education for her children. Who can blame her for that?”
Would you break the law to send your child to a better school? Chime in below!
