Kelley Williams-Bolar, Woman Who Faked Address For School Districting, Not Pardoned

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Parole Board on Friday recommended that the governor not pardon a woman who was jailed for using her father's address to enroll her children in a neighboring school district.

Kelley Williams-Bolar, of Akron, served nine days in jail earlier this year for falsifying information on records that she used to send her daughters to a school outside the city. She said her conviction for felony records tampering threatens her efforts to earn her teacher's license.

The board said Williams-Bolar could have solved her schooling situation legitimately and was dishonest before and after her conviction.

"Ms. Williams-Bolar was faced with a no more difficult situation than any other working parent who must ensure that their children are safe during, before and after school hours in their absence," it said in its unanimous ruling. "Most parents find legitimate and legal options to address this issue. Ms. Williams-Bolar's only response was to be deceitful."

The board also rejected Williams-Bolar's arguments that her conviction harmed her future plans, noting that she has hardly made the efforts necessary to obtain a degree to teach.

Williams-Bolar had told the parole board in July that she was remorseful for lying and would do things differently if given the chance.

"I love my kids and I would have done anything for my children," an emotional Williams-Bolar told the board.

An attorney for Williams-Bolar said Friday he was disappointed but confident that Gov. John Kasich, who has the final say, will see things differently.

"Justice will ultimately prevail," David Singleton, executive director of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center, said in an email.

The executive director of the citizen coalition ColorOfChange.org, which petitioned for Williams-Bolar's pardon, said the group will lobby Kasich as he makes his decision.

"The ColorOfChange.org community was deeply moved by the story of Kelley Williams-Bolar. Many parents all around the country would act just as she did if it meant a safe, secure experience for their children and peace of mind with regard to their education," Executive Director Rashad Robinson said. "The parole board's lack of empathy is astounding, and now the decision rests fully with Gov. Kasich."

Prosecutors defended the felony charges, saying Williams-Bolar willingly broke the law by using her father's address and misrepresenting other information on school documents for the nearby Copley-Fairlawn district. Officials there challenged her girls' residency in 2007, when they were 9 and 13 years old.

Summit County chief assistant prosecutor Brad Gessner told the parole board that Williams-Bolar engaged in a pattern of deception when it came to falsifying documents. Gessner said she had options when school officials questioned her about her residency but instead changed her address on her driver's license and bank and employment documents.

Williams-Bolar's older daughter now attends an Akron public high school, while her younger daughter got a voucher to go to a private middle school. Williams-Bolar continues to work as a teacher's assistant at Akron public schools.

Kasich asked the parole board to hold the clemency hearing, but he has the last word.

The case drew national attention as a high-profile example of schools getting tougher on parents who improperly send their children to other districts, usually with better-funded and higher-performing schools. Some people were outraged by Williams-Bolar's dishonesty. Others believed her prosecution and punishment were too severe.

Kasich has used the case to highlight expanded access to educational alternatives, including vouchers, and it became a rallying point for advocates of school choice.

Williams-Bolar, a single mother, said safety was her main concern when she enrolled her daughters in the Copley-Fairlawn district. She said she was worried about leaving her daughters alone because someone had broken into her home.

Parole board members asked her whether she had considered moving in with her father or having a neighbor watch her children on the days she attended night classes. They also raised questions about whether she had looked into voucher programs.

Singleton has acknowledged that his client had made mistakes, including writing on a bill from the school that she was deployed overseas even though she is not in the military.

The district's superintendent has said it was enforcing its enrollment policy. Since 2005, Copley-Fairlawn resolved conflicts with at least 47 other families over illegal student attendance but was unable to reach a resolution with Williams-Bolar and was forced to turn the case over to prosecutors, district officials said.

Comments

[manthony139]

01:25 PM on 09/05/2011

I still say if you don't like the USA you can get out!

[Auz]

09:36 AM on 09/04/2011

The tea party + some baby boomers are fighting tooth and nail to take their country back, which means they're fighting to keep the privileges they got from leeching off the hard work of blacks, Indians, hispanics, early Irish immigrants, and other marginalized groups since the founding of this country. They believe they were endowed this privilege by their founding fathers, and as these marginalized groups grow in population (most notably the hispanic pop), the hate and irrational actions they take will become more prominent and much more uglier than what we see projected at our first black President. Listen, THE DAYS OF PRIVILEGE FOR JUST ONE GROUP ARE NUMBERED, so lets come together and find a newer path that is equal to all people regardless of their race or socioeconomics. Obama 2012! -- gone

[am10]

11:39 AM on 09/04/2011

This is insane. Believe it or not, there are black and hispanics in "desired" school districts.

[nohopepope2187]

01:02 AM on 09/04/2011

Someone can make her out to be the antagonists all they want, but all I see is a mother who wants the best possible education for her children. I know that, legally, she was wrong, but the love for one's offspring is a powerful motivator.

[am10]

11:39 AM on 09/04/2011

So if she robbed a bank to support them, is that okay?

[Assumed Name]

01:49 PM on 09/04/2011

Since she didn't rob a bank, the question is ludicrous even as rhetorical.

[JackDeath]

03:18 PM on 09/04/2011

Oh! So Kelley Williams-Bolar’s is equivalent to a bank robber, is she? And they say there is no bigotry left in America, today.

[thatgirl22]

11:49 AM on 09/04/2011

It. Wasn't. About. Education. She said her neighborhood was not safe.

[JackDeath]

03:24 PM on 09/04/2011

It. Is. Not. A-bout. Her. Mo-ti-va-tion. She wants a pardon for a victimless, non-violent crime.

[no exit]

08:56 PM on 09/03/2011

If she did it a million times over, it wouldn't begin to touch the fraud rewards we've given to banks, CEO's, corporations and continue to give...where's the yelling and screaming?

Hey CONservatives, you servants of the rich, how come you are screaming about the screwing the middle class is getting every day of the year? f'ng hypocrites.

[Docile Jim Brady]

03:50 PM on 09/03/2011

URL to Amended Brief of Defendant Appellant Kelley Williams-Bolar

http://www.cpclerk.co.summit.oh.us/WebMOMCache/A121070111.pdf

Appeal from the Summit County Court of Common Pleas — Case No. 2009-10-3223

[PlayTOE]

02:34 PM on 09/03/2011

The rule that your kids need to be schooled in your district, is RACISM because it lets richer districts with more expensive housing have better schools and keep out the kids of those poor people who cannot afford the most affluent homes.

This is a way to give the POOR worse education.
It is unconstitutional, and Kelley Williams-Bolar needs a human rights lawyer who will take this all the way to the supreme court and win the right for EVERY child to receive a good education, not just the children of RICH parents.

[nohopepope2187]

01:00 AM on 09/04/2011

I don't know where you connected the word 'racism' with 'richer' and 'poorer,' but the rule isn't racism - it's the politicians who bend it that are to blame.
Don't think about it as far as where the kids should go to school, so much as funding should be more evenly distributed between the schools.

[PlayTOE]

01:49 AM on 09/04/2011

Why is it racism to divide people between the poor and the rich?
Easy, the poor are mostly persons of color, while the rich are predominantly white.

Keeping the school system unbalanced to favor the rich tends to remove opportunities from the children of the poor. This keeps the poor in a generational rut, from which few escape.

[am10]

11:40 AM on 09/04/2011

State funding favors the school her kids were in. Do you want to go down that road?

[am10]

11:41 AM on 09/04/2011

I'm as white as can be and can't afford rich school districts. So I'll stay where I can afford and support my kids and my local schools instead. By your logic, you shouldn't take care of your home unless you live in a mansion on five acres.

[JackDeath]

03:33 PM on 09/04/2011

Oh, you have the right to send your kids to a private school, just as you have the right to live in a privately owned dwelling, whether you own or rent. But, when it comes to publically funded schools or housing, then the 14th amendment to the US Constitution requires that we all receive equal treatment, which includes equal funding.

[K White]

02:04 PM on 09/03/2011

Although it's a little odd to me that her dad's tax contributions to the district doesn't allow him to send his grandchildren to the school, Kelley does seem like a real trip. And it is interesting that she can work for Akron public schools, but doesn't want to send her own children there. Oh, well.

[am10]

11:43 AM on 09/04/2011

If every grandkid went to granddad's public school, the system would be broke. Excellent point about her working in the district, but it's not good enough for her kids. That's a great message to send to her students that her kids are too good to be around them.

[promiddleclass]

01:48 PM on 09/03/2011

what do you expect? An educated person sees the inequity between schools and wants her kids to receive the same resources as the lucky who live in the burbs. This will be repeated & intensified if school privatization is allowed to continue or increase. It is easy for those with the better resources to demonize those who wish for the same.

[am10]

11:45 AM on 09/04/2011

I'm a middle class girl, but have problems with the statement that those in the suburbs are merely "lucky." By that logic, an inner city kid probably thinks I'm lucky…even though we break our backs paying the mortgage and taxes to live here. Honestly, everything is relative. We're better off not teaching kids to feel like victims and be jealous.

[Assumed Name]

01:25 PM on 09/03/2011

I read the report, which seems to give a fair representation, at the following URL:

http://www.drc.ohio.gov/Public/WilliamsBolarKellyClemency.pdf

I still say that the prosecutors should give it a rest.

[am10]

11:46 AM on 09/04/2011

I believe it's out of the prosecutor's hands now and up to the parole board. The parole board doesn't so much care about the crime as much as they care as to whether the person has shown regret and tried to make amends. Could be wrong though.

[Assumed Name]

01:40 PM on 09/04/2011

I hope you're correct and, as seems to have shown genuine remorse and to have rectified the situation, I hope they show her clemency.

[thatgirl22]

12:17 PM on 09/03/2011

For those of you supporting this lady, please read the background, or better yet, the actual letter from the parole board.

-She told Copley-Fairlawn she had no income, and therefore could get free/reduced lunches for her kids.
-She tried to give her parents a Grandparent POA, but didn't have her ex sign off
-She is not even close to obtaining a degree, her GPA isn't high enough, although in the last six years she received over $70k for loans & grants to UA.
-Her kids were on their dad's medical insurance, she added them to her own insurance through APS, until Akron found out they were covered by to insurance co's. She also applied for medicaid for the kids in *2010* saying they had no other insurance.
-She tried to get heating assistance, and lied repeatedly on the forms, saying she didn't receive subsidized housing, that her kids were on medicaid, and that she herself had no insurance.

You guys totally think all of this is alright? For real?

http://www.drc.ohio.gov/Public/WilliamsBolarKellyClemency.pdf

[Docile Jim Brady]

12:45 PM on 09/03/2011

Good work thatgirl22 and thanks for the link to the official report.

A wise governor will follow the recommendation of the 8-0 vote by OPB.

Please keep us posted about the pending appeal.

We've lived in our neighborhood over 40 years. Our home was burglarized within a year of moving in.

Our next door neighbor was shot in the stomach by burglars who upped their crime to armed robbery with the gun.

We did not send our son to an exclusive school at his grade five, nor either of our two children for grades 1-12, because we were unable to afford the tuition.

[ManwithaParachute]

01:06 PM on 09/03/2011

In a world where banks, mortgage servicers, and other financial institution repeatedly lie in court, falsify documentation and affidavits, obstruct justice, and destroy evidence in attempts to take peoples homes away from them, she is simply demonstrating the modeled behavior of our country's "elite".

How much effort are you putting into helping those who had paid off their mortgage yet, have had their home foreclosed upon and had sheriff's escort them and their belongings to the street?

Your values are demonstrated by what you do and don't do. What is it that drives your concern here and the bankster's not so much?

[thatgirl22]

01:17 PM on 09/03/2011

You're funny. First, comparing corporate crime to crimes an individual commits is illogical. Second, I have done a lot to help distressed homeowners, all the while taking care of an adult step-child who is mentally ill, for the last year and half. And finally, I live and work where this occurred.

[Docile Jim Brady]

02:28 PM on 09/03/2011

The financial abuse should slow down as those abuser are locked in prisons.

[bernikitty]

11:06 AM on 09/03/2011

ALL our public schools COULD be great places for our kids to be educated IF THAT WAS A PRIORITY.

our priorities: tax breaks for the rich and loopholes for mr. or ms. corporation.

[am10]

11:51 AM on 09/04/2011

While the bottom is upsetting, it's not stopping ME from prioritizing education for my kids and local community.

[Naithom]

11:03 AM on 09/03/2011

And yet, athletes real addresses are faked on a regular basis. If it helps a wealthy district win a championship, suddenly the judges are myopic.

[Docile Jim Brady]

12:47 PM on 09/03/2011

A jury found Ms. W-B guilty, not a judge.

[gov111w]

09:44 AM on 09/03/2011

Look ...In some parts of the country this is a major problem. In my town we pay the highest taxes around the area. Most of this money is for our schools. We have the best schools in the area due to the high taxes we are forced to pay. Many folks in neighboring communities try to use addreses in our town to gain entrance for their kids illegally in our schools. Our costs, because of these additional kids, continues to escalate, when found out, we always ask if they are willing to pay additionally to attend our schools and almost all of them say NO !!! These people are commiting fraud and thieft of services....I say put them all in jail .....

[Sara Williams]

11:37 AM on 09/03/2011

A great argument for balancing things out. No child should get a lesser public education than another just because the parents in one town have more money for tax revenues than another.

[am10]

11:53 AM on 09/04/2011

How will you balance things out and where do you draw the line? Should my neighbor not be able to buy a brand new car because I can't afford it? Or should my neighbor give me some of his money so we both get used cars?

[Peter007]

09:24 AM on 09/03/2011

There are various types of addresses. One can spend most of their time in one place but have a legal domicile in another. Some people have two homes. One may own a house in one district but live in a rented house in another.
Rahl Emanuel had this problem and the court allowed him to be a resident in Chicago even though he didn't live there and had no place that he could call his own there..
The women used pubic facilities earmarked for children. Give me a break.

[thatgirl22]

11:52 AM on 09/03/2011

No. You give me a break. A person for tax filing purposes can only have ONE primary residence, it doesn't matter how many homes they own, or may stay in. She falsified many government documents in the name of her kids' safety, *not* their education. Copley-Fairlawn does offer open enrollment. If a fam doesn't reside within the district's boundaries, they are required to pay tuition to attend.

[am10]

11:54 AM on 09/04/2011

You have to prove primary residence to use the school. The problem is many school systems don't pursue this until times are tight.

[no exit]

09:21 AM on 09/03/2011

This isn't about education, this is - again - about money.

If I thought my child would get a better education at a school outside the district (most likely because it has more tax money to play with) I would do the same thing.

A woman in jail because she wanted better for her children and people rail at her because what she did is "illegal." What hypocrites.

[timbeaux]

02:28 PM on 09/03/2011

No. This is about dishonesty.

She also said she had no income, and therefore could get free/reduc­ed lunches for her kids. She tried to game the system on her insurance and her kids' insurance, she's been given $70,000 for a degree she's nowhere near receiving, etc. etc. She's a crook.

She is in fact, what conservatives visualize when they scream about how "some people" exploit social programs.

[am10]

11:56 AM on 09/04/2011

So if you want nicer clothes for your kids, can you just take them from the store…or from a wealthier person's closet? Careful, someone out there thinks you're rich too, believe it or not.