Who are these people that run the schools ?

[fastfredracing]

I had gone rounds with this same guy last year. He was wrong, and my exact words to him were " over, under, around, or through you, my son is going to vo tech . You cannot deny my child this opportunity ".
He told me , based on what he knows about my son, he is not a good fit for vo tech. He had never once met my child
So, a year later, my kid excels at vo tech, and it is the only curriculum that my son likes .
My son will be staying with my sister in law this coming school year . Its just what is best for him. Im trying to lay the groundwork for transportation . 4 years ago, they moved him to a different campus, it is an hour and 20 minute drive, and he hates it there. His old campus is minutes from his aunts house, and I want him moved back there . There was no reason he got moved, other than political school stuff. His old teacher, ended up becoming the director for that campus, and moved her students there . Nothing has gotten better for him there, it has only gotten worse, and he spends over 3 hours on a school bus every day .
Here are some excerpts from today's exchange with him.
Mrs. Grosshaupt,



If he is staying there (sleeping) during the week, under PA School Code, he would be living in Fox Chapel. School Code indicates residence is where a student sleeps during the school week. So, he would have to be enrolled in Fox Chapel.



As for Sharpsburg, I will have to look at our transportation runs and speak with DT Watson. Currently, all of students attend the Sewickley campus. I do not believe I will be able to switch him to Sharpsburg.

I read his email, threw a couple of rotors across the shop , then came home and looked up school code
Here is Pa school code :
§ 11.11. Entitlement of resident children to attend public schools.
(a) Entitlement.

(1) A school age child is entitled to attend the public schools of the child’s district of residence. A child’s district of residence is that in which the parents or the guardian resides.
I am trying to type up something that is not snarky , but honestly , this guy deserves a little dose of snarky . Every time I have gone to him, he is instantly dismissive . My wife hated him also, so I am taking revenge for her
My only concern is that my son gets a fair shake and makes it through high school .
I guess he sees my dirty fingernails and takes me for a hay seed. It took me less than 2 minutes to look up the information .
Is he just lazy and does not want to do the paperwork ?

[fastfredracing]

Sorry , I always rant about my personal mess here. You guys are my buds .

[DWBOX2000]

My advice would be if they don’t listen or are slow to act, lawyer up. Time is critical at that age.
Best of luck.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

Sorry , I always rant about my personal mess here. You guys are my buds .

You have earned the right to rant here all ya want to Fred .....

I have an ignore list !

Best to you and your son .... seriously.

[Alan A]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

Sorry , I always rant about my personal mess here. You guys are my buds .

1-800-LAWSUIT.

A few bucks for a lawyers letter is the way to go. Much harder to ignore, and they know you aren’t going to be brushed off easily.

Edit - why the hell did it treat that as a url and turn it into a hyperlink? It’s a generic statement for “time to get a lawyer”, not a link to a recommendation.

Edit2 - And now it’s not a hyperlink. Even stranger.

[pwd72s]

They are people who believe very much in social engineering...To say more will send this to parf....maybe pose the same question there? The guy you are interacting with is following higher orders.

[john70t]

Short and sweet and to the point. No opinions. These are the facts. This is the law. This is what needs to be done. How soon can that happen. If not then why not. Please respond fully in writing. No tangents about feelings and who said what when, other than a single mention of the hardship and difficulty it has placed upon your family and how his education has been damaged. I am your biggest threat right now. I am fully in the right. This is what you need to do to avoid a worse situation. I am offering a quiet resolution right now and suggest you take it.

[rwest]

Fred,

Stay polite, stay on the high ground- makes it much easier in the long run.

Get a meeting with the dude and nicely point out how you read the language and ask for the result you want. If he isn’t willing to see your side, politely ask him what the grievance process is and how to set up a meeting with his supervisor.

The important thing is to not give any of them reason to write you off as a crazy person.

Good luck and take care of yourself too, you’ve been through a lot in too short of a time.
Rutager

[Crowbob]

Originally Posted by john70t

Short and sweet and to the point. No opinions. These are the facts. This is the law. This is what needs to be done. How soon can that happen. If not then why not. Please respond fully in writing. No tangents about feelings and who said what when, other than a single mention of the hardship and difficulty it has placed upon your family and how his education has been damaged. I am your biggest threat right now. I am fully in the right. This is what you need to do to avoid a worse situation. I am offering a quiet resolution right now and suggest you take it.

This, pretty much.

Immediately go up the ladder w/o argument...'If you can not make this happen, please advise me as to who can.'

Then lawyer-up.

Nobody cares about your hardship. They care about getting through their day. They will gladly hand their problem(s) to somebody else. You are asking them who that somebody else is.

[John Rogers]

Something similar happened to our girls (4) when the homes for the new development East of us started filling up. We had a "Science Magnet" school and the principal was fantastic. But, we got a letter saying all our girls would have to move down the street a fair ways and guess what.....the line for schools went right down the middle of the street! Sooo since I was still in the Navy I got dressed up in my dress blues with all the ribbons, hat and gold stripes and visited the district office! They resended the order for all 4 to move! My neighbor went in his "mail inspectors uniform" and got his changed too! Good luck dealing with people who think they know best!
John

[A930Rocket]

Whatever you do, we are 100% behind you, Fred.

[Eric 951]

Originally Posted by john70t

Short and sweet and to the point. No opinions. These are the facts. This is the law. This is what needs to be done. How soon can that happen. If not then why not. Please respond fully in writing. No tangents about feelings and who said what when, other than a single mention of the hardship and difficulty it has placed upon your family and how his education has been damaged. I am your biggest threat right now. I am fully in the right. This is what you need to do to avoid a worse situation. I am offering a quiet resolution right now and suggest you take it.

Good advice. Calm, and to the point--no emotion (very tough but necessary since it does involve your son). If you cannot get the results needed, don't threaten, just escalate by consulting an attorney.

[asphaltgambler]

Yes, Fred - a meeting in person, calm attitude, and as best scenario that john70t and rwest described. Anything else but this will likely not go anywhere....unfortunately.

The attitude of some people, especially those that can directly impact a situation; either positively or negatively can be created from a overzealous authoritarian complex............... UFB

[unclebilly]

I’ve been the president of school council since my oldest was in Pre Kindergarten. My son will be in grade 8 this year and my daughter in grade 5.

In that time, I have started a stem club, embarrassed the provincial government into a $10M modernization of the school, ended the same old field trips to the same old places because they were easy and familiar. I’ve out lasted 2 principals. This year, I’m trying to fix the mandatory band program…

The point is that if you get involved, you can get 5hit done. The school board is afraid of me and my wife, we go straight to the provincial board of education when we don’t get what we want. The current school board trustee has asked me to at least cc him or the superintendent on emails to the province, I told him that I can and will do whatever I want. He also tried to tell me how to run my school council meetings… I reminded him that I’ve run more school council meetings than he’s attended and if he didn’t like it, he can stay home. I’ve also tried to quit leading school council the last 2 years at the AGMs but nobody else wants to step up.

Oh and to be clear, I’ve formed great friendships with the last 2 principals. They see what I’m doing and how I can make things happen where their hands are tied. We have a new principal this year so we will see how it goes.

Our previous trustee and I got along really well, he was a great man but sadly died from cancer. We wound up with some of his best registered purebred cattle. We were great friends and he provided me with some great insight…

You would be surprised how much power parents actually have, if you don’t like the answers you are getting, level up. Remember, these pencil pushers hate to be embarrassed. Quit dealing at the county level, go to the state level if you need to. Remember, they need to act in the best interest of the student even if doing so tests their policies…

[berettafan]

I would just offer that cherry picking schools is a constant issue for admin and engaging them about it isn't gonna get you a room full of open minds.

[wdfifteen]

Umm Fred ....

I hope I'm reading this right. Your son is staying with your sister in-law so he can go to a school near where she lives.

You said, " If he is staying there (sleeping) during the week, under PA School Code, he would be living in Fox Chapel. School Code indicates residence is where a student sleeps during the school week. So, he would have to be enrolled in Fox Chapel."

But then you quoted the code saying something different:

"§ 11.11. Entitlement of resident children to attend public schools.
(a) Entitlement.

(1) A school age child is entitled to attend the public schools of the child’s district of residence. A child’s district of residence is that in which the parents or the guardian resides.

By "guardian" I assume they mean legal guardian - it is a legal entity. Your sister-in-law is basically a baby sitter.

Don't get me wrong, I'm totally on your side, but I think you may need an attorney to help you establish guardianship for you sister-in-law or change your legal residence to her house.

[wdfifteen]

My neighbor's family went through something similar. They lived about 100 yards outside a district whose school was ten minutes away. You could literally see the school through the trees in the winter. The school in the district they lived in was almost an hour away.
They fought and fought, finally bought a property in the school district - not good enough. The finally bought a house in the district and moved. They moved literally half a mile because of intransigent school district bureaucracy.

[fastfredracing]

He does not attend public school. He is on the spectrum and goes to a special school. He attended the campus that I want him back at for 6 years, living in the same place we are now . They have 4 locations, one is close to home. 4 years ago , they moved him over an hour away . All school politics, and funding related, nothing to do with his behavior , or education programs .
We DO NOT want him to change his residency . That would be a huge nightmare, and that is what this guy is trying to tell me I need to do because he is sleeping there.
The state code spells it out in black and white, that his residency is where his legal guardian resides ( me) .
Its all on the up and up , I am not trying to pull a fast one, just trying to get the best results for him.
We will be doing most of the transportation ourselves .
The part that you have listed as I said , is actually what the school administrator told me, but he is clearly wrong according to Pa school code . How could he not know this? I know this !
I cant even be a little crazy? Toss a chair or two, maybe choke someone ?

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

I cant even be a little crazy? Toss a chair or two, maybe choke someone ?

Sure. Come over for a beer. I'll introduce you to my neighbor. Do us both a favor.

[berettafan]

I read it as WD did at first as well. Then figured out you WANT them to follow the literal rule on this.

I'd guess transportation is one factor they are worrying over. The other is likely class size. But i would think rules are rules and he should be attending the school you prefer. I suppose you would respond to that email with 'school code reads "......" and thus he should be attending Sharpsburg'

God bless you and your son.