Board allows 6 outside zone to stay at school

The Charleston County School Board didn't enforce its new, strict address-verification policy when it allowed six St. Andrews School of Math and Science students to stay at the school.

The six students don't live in the West Ashley school's attendance zone but are enrolled in the school. Students who cannot produce the required documents are supposed to be moved to the school they are zoned to attend, but the board will not make the students move until next school year.

The county board passed a policy that requires students to submit at least two documents that prove their residency, and their parents must sign affidavits about the information they provide. The district is phasing in the policy this year by checking the five magnet schools with residency requirements before doing the same at all schools next year.

Families of 14 students made an appeal to the West Ashley constituent school board and asked permission to stay at St. Andrews. The board allowed three of those children to remain, and it had specific reasons, such as a severe medical hardship and a student who had moved closer to the school but, because of jagged attendance lines, no longer lived in its zone.

The 11 other cases were denied, and six of those parents appealed to the county school board. This week was the first time appealed cases had come before the board as a result of the new address verification process.

The board overturned the constituent board's decision and voted 8-1 to allow the students to remain at St. Andrews for the remainder of the school year. School board Vice Chairwoman Nancy Cook was the dissenting vote.

School board Chairman Hillery Douglas said the board considered the circumstances in each case, and the board will continue to evaluate the basis for each student's appeal. "The board looked at the human side of it," he said.

Just because students appeal to the county board doesn't mean they will be allowed to stay at their schools, he said. If families have legitimate reasons for needing to stay, their appeal likely will be granted, he said. If children who live in the school's attendance zone aren't on a waiting list, Douglas said, it would be wise to allow children to finish the year at the same school. But that would be the board's decision, he said.

West Ashley constituent board Chairman Russell Johnson said no one on the constituent board wanted to move children mid-year, but they were trying to uphold the county board's rules.

"I'm not real fond of (the county board) making rules that they don't enforce themselves," Johnson said. "What is the point of the residency verification if they are not going to enforce the results?"

The biggest loss is the time school administrators are spending collecting documents and checking students addresses, he said. Thousands of dollars in people's time have been spent on this just to have it thrown away, he said.

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@ postandcourier.com.