Few students failed to confirm N.B. residency
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

"It is such a lengthy process to follow somebody, watch their home and oftentimes video them to prove it's not their home." - Geri Margin acting superintendent

NORTH BRUNSWICK - Only 40 families have yet to provide the proper documentation to prove they are township residents as part of the Residency Verification and Re-Certification Initiative implemented by the school district this May.

With the second marking period of school beginning this week, the 3,700 original question marks have been reduced significantly due to the work of a part-time clerical staff and a private investigator.

"It is such a lengthy process to follow somebody, watch their home and oftentimes video them to prove it's not their home," acting Superintendent Geri Margin said. "I think we were well aware it was going to take a very long time to get through the paperwork, and we certainly did not want to make a mistake ... so we were very careful with the information we verified."

As of the Thanksgiving break, 28 individuals being investigated since September had resulted in 13 being confirmed as residents, nine cases pending, one determined to have been placed here by social services, and five removed from the district.

For the remaining cases, letters will be sent out this week giving notice that any children still not proven to be North Brunswick residents will be removed from school. The principals will call down the students in question and ask their parents to pick them up while requesting the proper documentation.

Any information received before the end of the year should be resolved quickly; documentation received after Jan. 1 may take longer because of the impending need for investigations.

"What we have found is a number of people living in the community don't have a traditional format; they don't own a home or have a formal lease, but are living with some form of informal living agreement with the owner, so it's a little difficult to verify residency. But we will work with the families to help establish that," Margin said.

The acting superintendent also said that it is hard to determine how many of the total people questioned were actually nonresidents, because people can move out of the district without presenting a reason. Some just decide not to re-register, so it is unclear how many people were threatened by the initiative and left before action was taken.

In relation to this, because the mobility rate is fairly even with last year and new registration is up, there is no significant financial impact resulting from the program. However, the benefit lies in the data collection, which will enable better educational measures for students who belong in the district.

"I think overall we found that the students we've discovered to not reside, through investigation, were normally children with special needs ... that taxes many of our resources. It is always beneficial to provide support for the students who reside in our community."

The district is once again encouraging residents whose residency is in question to submit their appropriate paperwork as soon as possible. Homeowners must provide a copy of their deed, lease, or tax receipt as well as two other forms of identification featuring an address, such as a bank statement, utility bill or credit card statement.

"I think this has been a very important process because now our database is accurate. ... We can now annually or on a regular basis verify residency of all families in any kind of rental or temporary placement," Margin said. "I think that with the cooperation between the Board of Education and the township [with their new code enforcement ordinances] we can really ensure that this code is enforced and that our schools are filled with children who reside in our district."

For more information about the process, call (732) 289-3000, ext. 4545. To notify the district of any suspicious activity, call (732) 940-5541.