City Tackles School Problems

The Cambridge City Council met with the School Committee Tuesday night in a rare joint session to discuss the issue of non-Cambridge residents attending the city's public schools.

The meeting was requested by City Councilor Timothy J. Toomey, who said he called the meeting in response to repeated anonymous complaints from school employees who told him a "large number" of non-resident children were enrolled in the Cambridge public schools.

City Councillor Sheila T. Russell said she agreed with Toomey that the problem is serious.

"Whenever the phone rings in the [City Council] green room, it's someone reporting a non-resident student," Russell said.

Cambridge School Superintendent Mary Lou McGrath responded that schools require proof of residence from all entering students, but families from communities outside Cambridge occasionally succeed in enrolling their children in the city's public schools by falsifying residency.

When school officials do raise concerns that a particular student is not a Cambridge resident, McGrath said, the superintendent's office sends an officer to the student's alleged home in an attempt to establish residency.

This month, McGrath's office per- formed 194 residence checks on students, she said; 25 were eventually confirmed as non-residents and were removed from the schools.

But McGrath said it is difficult to establish residency because the Massachusetts General Laws on school enrollment rely only on the child's place of residence, and not the homes of their parents or guardians.

According to a recent survey by the Cambridge School Department of Rindge and Latin students, 104 students live with someone under 21 years of age while 28 live in a halfway house or shelter. State law dictates that these children are eligible to at tend Cambridge schools.

McGrath said she often has a difficult time dealing with allegations of non-residency because they raise issues of family values, she said.

"These complaints are in effect asking the Cambridge School Committee to resolve the issue of domestic partnership--what is a family?" McGrath said.

Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72 said he agreed with McGrath that the complaints often center on nontraditional families.

"I think of a little boy whose parents just got divorced and whose father moved to Boston. The biggest fear was that the stability he had in his elementary school classroom would be taken away," Reeves said.

The Cambridge School Department does welcome children of displaced and homeless families living in Cambridge, McGrath said.

And, she said. "There are some children who are here for very serious court mandated reasons." She later said she was referring to children who are victims of child abuse and family turmoil.

Councillor Alice K. Wolf said she understood the need of Cambridge taxpayers to reserve their schools for their children but added that she hoped accusations against students would not go too far.

"I would not like to see a "reign of terror" in the Cambridge schools," Wolf said

But McGrath said it is difficult to establish residency because the Massachusetts General Laws on school enrollment rely only on the child's place of residence, and not the homes of their parents or guardians.

According to a recent survey by the Cambridge School Department of Rindge and Latin students, 104 students live with someone under 21 years of age while 28 live in a halfway house or shelter. State law dictates that these children are eligible to at tend Cambridge schools.

McGrath said she often has a difficult time dealing with allegations of non-residency because they raise issues of family values, she said.

"These complaints are in effect asking the Cambridge School Committee to resolve the issue of domestic partnership--what is a family?" McGrath said.

Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72 said he agreed with McGrath that the complaints often center on nontraditional families.

"I think of a little boy whose parents just got divorced and whose father moved to Boston. The biggest fear was that the stability he had in his elementary school classroom would be taken away," Reeves said.

The Cambridge School Department does welcome children of displaced and homeless families living in Cambridge, McGrath said.

And, she said. "There are some children who are here for very serious court mandated reasons." She later said she was referring to children who are victims of child abuse and family turmoil.

Councillor Alice K. Wolf said she understood the need of Cambridge taxpayers to reserve their schools for their children but added that she hoped accusations against students would not go too far.

"I would not like to see a "reign of terror" in the Cambridge schools," Wolf said