SNT: WTF: Tuition for Public Schools!!

CHESAPEAKE

Thinking about sneaking your child into a school outside your district? You could end up like Carla Lambert.

The Portsmouth resident was ordered to pay $1,764 in restitution to Chesapeake Public Schools on Monday after she was convicted of lying about her residence in order to register her child at Great Bridge High School, said Chesapeake Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney David Whitted. She also received a suspended fine of $200.

In 2005, the city hired two attendance officers to investigate students suspected of being nonresidents. Since then, they've hired a third, Vaughan said. Last school year, the division found 207 nonresident students. In most cases, the students are sent back to their home districts without penalty, he said.

The division allows some students who don't live in Chesapeake to attend the city's schools, but they have to pay tuition: $2,433 per semester.

"It's a matter of fairness," said School Board Vice Chairman Harry Murphy. "We want to make sure that the citizens of Chesapeake are paying for the citizens of Chesapeake."

State Education budget is $14,178,317,557 with Direct Aid to Public Education in the amount of $6,693,457,709

From the Chesapeake budget: Assuming Grants, Textbooks and Cafeteria resources will be similar to FY 2004-05, total funding for Schools with these will be $412.3 million or 53.1% of the total City budget for all purposes

So if the public schools are finance by tax payers both through state tax and local tax and county taxes and now through the lottery then public school is open to the public. Yes public school are not free since each year there is a long list of fee each has to pay before school start: book fees, locker fee, science fee, and other fees.

Yet the city is charging those who don't live in Chesapeake city limits tuition of $2,433 per semester, now that $4833 per year since there are two semester per school years. Yes this is still cheaper than a private school, however these parents have paid state taxes for years. Does the school charge those that just move to the city this tuition? If not; then why?

It is wrong for the court to order this mother to pay the school this fee/fine. Even if it was against the law, this mother, which I'm sure has paid all the school fees, and I'm sure her child paid for his/her lunch everyday. So what school resources then this child use up. I'm sure the mother bought and pick up her child everyday so the child wasn't riding the buses.

So when in the hell did public schools become semi private in order to charge a tax payer TUITION?