No One Asked Me But… (February 16, 2011)

By DR. LARRY MOSES

No one asked me but… An Ohio woman placed her children in a school district other than the one they should have been in by residency rules. She was convicted of tampering with official records and lying about the residency of her children. The school district said her failure to pay $800 a month in tuition was fraud and she was charged with stealing $30,000 worth of education. She was sentenced to two five-year jail terms. She ended up serving nine days in jail and will be on probation for five years.

It was her misfortune that her children were not great athletes, for districts all across the country admit athletes to schools outside their residencies while officials look the other way.

It was also too bad that she was poor or she could have rented a sham apartment and claimed residency as many wealthy, who want to pick the school of their choice, do.

Someone should have advised her to declare the children homeless. Homeless children must be admitted to any school in the land without verification of residency.

She also had the misfortune of being an American citizen. Had she been in the country illegally, the school district would have been under a federal mandate to educate her children.

By Clark County School District’s own estimates nearly 30,000 non-resident youngsters are enrolled in Clark County Schools and do not pay tuition as required by State law. The District bills the State for these youngsters, who cannot be residents of Clark County because they are in the country illegally. At $5,000 per student, this would amount to $150 million dollars a year.

It is understood that the District is required by the federal mandate to educate these students. If the district were to seek State funds for students who are actually residents of California, they would be charged with fraud.

The District should be billing the federal government or even better yet, the Mexican government for the education we provide for these non-residents’ youngsters.

If the district’s figures are accurate, these 30,000 students require the district to hire 1,000 more teachers at an average salary of over $50,000, not counting benefits.

How many schools did the district have to build in order to house these students? If forty percent of the students were high schoolers, it would require four high schools to house them. The cost of a high school is over 80 million dollars. Then there is the corresponding elementary and middle schools needed to house the other 18,000 students.

A poor mother who illegally causes an Ohio school district to spend $30,000 dollars is in jail for nine days and on probation for five years. Someone tell me where the fairness is in this.

No one asked me but… I recently spoke to a boyhood friend who has retired from a very successful law practice in the mid–west and now takes only cases dealing with injustice in the American law system. We discussed the disparity in the justice handed down by American courts. I commented that race was a major issue in the injustice in America. He stated where race was once the major issue as to fair and impartial trials; the issue today has more to do with wealth.

If you don’t believe that; explain Lindsay Lohan who allegedly ripped off a $2500 necklace and was told by judge, “You’re no different than anyone else. So please, don’t push your luck.” Then even though she was on probation from an earlier DUI, she was released on bail.

One must wonder if every convicted drug addict who was on probation would have be granted bail if they were charged with a felony. One must think that the average person already on probation for a DUI and a drug related conviction would have had their probation revoked.

Lohan has arrived late to some hearings on a 2007 drunken driving case, and appeared at one with an expletive painted on her fingernails. Judges sent her to jail twice last year and twice to rehab as well, but her time in custody was shortened each time due to overcrowding and the fact that she was being held on misdemeanor charges.

I wonder how many convicted meth addicts would have enjoyed the same consideration. While the statue of justice is blindfolded, one must wonder if the blindfold has slipped just a little bit.

No one asked me but… As I write this column, we are only days away from Valentine’s Day. When you read this, the day set aside to honor the one you love is over.

As a kid, I never really cared much for Valentine’s Day. It was a time before every child in class had to give a Valentine to every other kid whether they liked them or not. For some reason I never collected a large number of cards.

Besides, I never really liked those little heart candies with slogans stamped on them anyway. However, they were good for winging across the room and bouncing off the heads of the teacher’s pet. They always tasted like soap to me. You may wonder how I know what soap tasted like, but that is a story for another day.

I must admit it I am at a loss to understand why Cupid was selected to represents Valentine’s Day. When I think about romance, the last thing to come to mind is a naked chubby toddler with a weapon in his hand.

I much preferred Halloween.

As of this writing, my wife has her Valentine’s Day decorations up in the house. They include the first Valentines we exchanged after we were married.

I have a great Valentine’s Day planned for her. During the day, I will open the door for her when she puts the laundry in the washing machine. I may even plug and unplug the vacuum as she moves from room to room. In the evening, I will take her to Lin’s and wait patiently while she reads as many Valentine’s Day cards as she wishes. When she finishes with the cards, we will move to the flower case, for viewing only. I can’t help it if I am just a hopeless romantic.

Thought for the week…. Don’t spend your life with someone you can live with – spend it with someone you can’t live without.

– Anonymous