Jailed for "Stealing" Public Education - 12 Years for
Wanting a Public Education for her Children

Tanya McDowell Sentenced to 12 Years for Stealing Education

by Lovelylocks

The Savvy Sista - "The Savviest Site on the Web..."

February 28, 2012

http://www.the-savvy-sista.com/2012/02/tanya-mcdowell-sentenced-to-12-years.html

I literally am sitting at my desk with tears in my eyes as I
type this article.  I don't think  I have felt this much
shame about being an American since the execution of Troy
Davis.  It is times like these I am reminded that no matter
how noble our written intentions are in the Constitution,
our system is really only as "good" as the people who run
it.

If you don't know the story of Tanya  McDowell she made
headlines last year when she was arrested for using a
friend's address to send her son to a school in a better
neighborhood.  At the time, McDowell was homeless but wanted
her son to have access to a quality education.

Now before we look at her particular case, I have to tell
you all that yesterday salon.com ran an article about
Presidential candidate Rick Santorum.  During his stomp for
the Republican nomination, Santorum has frequently
referenced the fact that his wife home schools their seven
children.  Well according to this article, the State of PA
picked up part of the tab to home school his children even
though his family resided in Virginia at the time.  The
article went on to characterize Santorum's behavior as
unethical but not quite illegal.  The school district in PA,
which tried to recover its money from Santorum, spent two
hundred thousand dollars buying computers, software etc for
five of the Santorum children for three years.  Oh by the
way, Santorum refused to repay the money and the State of PA
eventually picked up the tab (what was that again about not
making Black people rich by giving them other people's
money?).

So this man can lie about his state of residency and use
funds from another state to educate his children and NOTHING
happens to him but a poor, homeless, mother wants to use
someone else's address to send her child to the best school
district in her area and it's considered theft of
education??? Please tell me I am not the only person who
sees something wrong with this scenario.

The basic premise used to charge Tanya McDowell for theft is
that the school districts are allotted their budgets based
on property taxes, etc and the money is then divided and
allocated to different school districts.  They say that by
sending her son to a more affluent school district she
basically stole the money that was allotted for the
education of children who really lived in that district.

Now I guess because they put it in legal terms they think
that we have to accept it...Well I don't In fact, I think it
complete BS... First of all not everyone who lives in the
district pays property taxes.  For instance, I am under the
impression that the friend's address that she used lives in
an apartment (it has been described as such in news
articles).  If you rent an apartment or a house for that
matter in the school district, you do not pay property
taxes.  So if you rent a house in the area zoned for the
school, are you stealing an education??

Secondly, the Supreme Court has already determined that a
primary education is a fundamental right that even illegal
aliens are entitled to have.  So illegal immigrants can be
educated in the public schools of their choice, but this
legal citizen can't choose to send her child to a school in
a better area?? Lastly, this woman, by all accounts, was
homeless.  If she has no residency, how can you prove that
she did not live in the school district?? What if she slept
in a homeless shelter in that school district for a week,
can her son attend school there then??

I really fear the precedent that this case set.  I
understand her lawyer's argument that he had to look out for
the best interest of his client and that in this case, the
plea deal was her best option... But I shudder to think what
this means for the rest of us... Can we say slippery slope??

==========

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