Letter to Editor: Get Strict with Residency Requirements

The following is a letter I sent to the editor of the Greenwich Time newspaper and it was published on June 14, 2009:

I have one simple question:  Why are the standards for proving town residency more stringent for acquiring a beach pass than they are for sending a kid to a Greenwich public school?

Anecdotally we hear situations every year of non-resident families enrolling children in our schools or we see families that move to nearby towns without moving their kids from the school.  There may be a perfectly reasonable explanation for the cars with New York plates you occasionally see at drop-off (they are not always nannies) but I would be a lot more comfortable if I knew the town was doing more to protect our educational resources and the spending of our taxes.

The town’s budget for fiscal 2009 is prepared to spend $130 million with anticipated enrollment of 8,880 students, or $14, 640 per student.  Assuming only 1% of currently enrolled students are not valid town residents, the town would have $1.3 million of additional resources to reduce class sizes or increase teacher compensation.

The incremental steps being taken to increase residential proof requirements are inadequate.  Given the amount of money at stake, not to mention the dilution of the quality of education, it seams worth the additional effort.  One cynical but simple solution: require students to present a beach pass for admission.  More seriously, I would think the ideal requirement would be proof of payment on town property taxes each year