Unionville-Chadds Ford School District Superintendent John Sanville said the district does not make deals when it comes to residency violations.
Yet, just such an allegation was leveled at the district administration in Holly Mazone’s resignation letter on Oct. 21. Manzone abruptly stepped down with only one month remaining in her four-year term on the school board.
In the letter, she listed a number of board and administration actions she said were wrong, but said the biggest issue was that a deal had been struck allowing an out-of-district student to attend Unionville High School.
In a telephone interview a day after the resignation, Sanville said he would not breach confidentiality of things discussed in executive sessions, but did say the district follows the letter of the law and investigates “vigorously and aggressively” every time it hears of residency infractions, even to the point of employing private investigators, to confirm legitimate residency.
People must show various forms of proof of residency and sign an affidavit to that effect. Some of the documentation includes leases, mortgages and drivers licenses.
“Residency is complex and it’s not always what you might think. I can tell you we vigorously and aggressively pursue all residency complaints that come to us,” he said, “and we do not strike deals.”
Sanville said the district’s guide on the matter is Pennsylvania state law.
“We do not make deals with anyone,” Sanville said. “What we do is follow board policy and state law.”
He said there were 30 investigations regarding residency issues two years ago and there are about a dozen right now.
“When we know about them, we pursue. Sometimes we find that they’re unfounded and sometimes we find that folks need to register in schools where they live,” he said.
In her resignation letter, Manzone said, “[T]he district administration failed to adequately investigate and pursue a clear violation of our residency requirements, confirmed by investigative reports.”
She said the administration failed to defend the interest of district taxpayers, then dragged its feet and struck a deal without telling school board members.
That deal, she said, “includes forgoing back tuition payments for the period of non-residency and a pledge not to question district residency in the future.”
She went on to say she was denied access to reports justifying the action.
She said state law — Section 1302 of the School Code — provides that a child is considered a resident of the school district where his or her parent resides.
Manzone has represented Region B since being elected four years ago, but previously decided not to run for a second term.
To read the original story on Manzone’s resignation with her full letter of resignation, go here.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
(7 votes, average: 3.29 out of 5)
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After reading Mr Sanville’s reply to Ms Manzone’s comments I SMELL COVER UP.