[KH02]

We know someone who lives in a city in CT with less then average schools. They own a rental home in a nicer town and send their kids to school there. I always thought you had to RESIDE in the town. Is it true you don't need to live in town, just own property in the town?

[JayCT]

Yes, your legal residence has to be in the town you send your kids to school in. I suspect that even though they rent the property, it is listed as their legal residence. They likely are registered to vote there and have all their mail sent there as well. Jay

[KH02]

Thats what I thought Jay! Thanks!

[just_because]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Yes, your legal residence has to be in the town you send your kids to school in. I suspect that even though they rent the property, it is listed as their legal residence. They likely are registered to vote there and have all their mail sent there as well. Jay

'No' is actually the right answer to the OP's question. You DO need to actually live in the town, not just own property there (at least with towns that I've been familiar with).

Simply trying to establish 'legal residence' by registering to vote there and having mail sent there does not allow you to legally have your children attend schools there.

When you say "have all your mail sent there", that means your mailing address which has no legal standing regarding your residency (this could be a PO in any town, your office, the office of your PA, lawyer, accountant, etc). Completely meaningless. If by 'having mail sent there' you really mean things like telling the DMV, tax authorities, your mortgage lender, property insurance company, etc that you live somewhere you don't, that could be further problematic legally. I'm not an expert on voter laws but I believe that you must register to vote in the town where you really live.

What the OP describes is very likely to be residency fraud and they may be at risk for their children being expelled from school and further civil and criminal penalties.

People trying to get kids into schools where they don't live is an age old problem and the estimated value of "free" good schools over bad schools can easily be in the 10s or even hundreds of thousands for a family. So the motivation to cheat may be high but towns are not stupid -- particularly in towns with good schools. School budget crunches may also prompt tighter scrutiny over this kind of fraud.

[KH02]

Originally Posted by just_because

'No' is actually the right answer to the OP's question. You DO need to actually live in the town, not just own property there (at least with towns that I've been familiar with).

Simply trying to establish 'legal residence' by registering to vote there and having mail sent there does not allow you to legally have your children attend schools there.

When you say "have all your mail sent there", that means your mailing address which has no legal standing regarding your residency (this could be a PO in any town, your office, the office of your PA, lawyer, accountant, etc). Completely meaningless. If by 'having mail sent there' you really mean things like telling the DMV, tax authorities, your mortgage lender, property insurance company, etc that you live somewhere you don't, that could be further problematic legally. I'm not an expert on voter laws but I believe that you must register to vote in the town where you really live.

What the OP describes is very likely to be residency fraud and they may be at risk for their children being expelled from school and further civil and criminal penalties.

People trying to get kids into schools where they don't live is an age old problem and the estimated value of "free" good schools over bad schools can easily be in the 10s or even hundreds of thousands for a family. So the motivation to cheat may be high but towns are not stupid -- particularly in towns with good schools. School budget crunches may also prompt tighter scrutiny over this kind of fraud.

Yes, that is what I suspected. When I registered my kids for school I had to provide a copy of my mortgage statement for the home and a bill or two mailed to that address (like heating etc). So I suppose they did just use their rental home as a way to get around it.

It does annoy me greatly, but I won't end up telling on them or anything. Just frustrating.

[Mike 75]

Why should anyone be annoyed? They own residential property in the town and pay property taxes to the town. They also get to vote on the town budget by virtue of their property ownership.

[Matrix2791]

Originally Posted by just_because

'No' is actually the right answer to the OP's question. You DO need to actually live in the town, not just own property there (at least with towns that I've been familiar with).

Simply trying to establish 'legal residence' by registering to vote there and having mail sent there does not allow you to legally have your children attend schools there.

When you say "have all your mail sent there", that means your mailing address which has no legal standing regarding your residency (this could be a PO in any town, your office, the office of your PA, lawyer, accountant, etc). Completely meaningless. If by 'having mail sent there' you really mean things like telling the DMV, tax authorities, your mortgage lender, property insurance company, etc that you live somewhere you don't, that could be further problematic legally. I'm not an expert on voter laws but I believe that you must register to vote in the town where you really live.

What the OP describes is very likely to be residency fraud and they may be at risk for their children being expelled from school and further civil and criminal penalties.

People trying to get kids into schools where they don't live is an age old problem and the estimated value of "free" good schools over bad schools can easily be in the 10s or even hundreds of thousands for a family. So the motivation to cheat may be high but towns are not stupid -- particularly in towns with good schools. School budget crunches may also prompt tighter scrutiny over this kind of fraud.

I can understand if they don't pay any taxes to a particular town, but how are they cheating/defrauding if their paying property taxes in that town even if their not living there? So the town gets to tax you without providing town services to you? So what would the police do for a non-resident paying property taxes? "sorry that your home is being burglarized sir but we can't help you since you don't live in town".

[allanny13]

It is technically not allowed but people do it. It's also hard for the town to enforce because the owner could always kick their tenant out and move back into the property full time if push came to shove. Usually the town would only pursue it if they notice multiple families' kids from a single address in a single family home (tenants' kids are attending the school as well as the owners).

[beer belly]

Originally Posted by Mike 75

Why should anyone be annoyed? They own residential property in the town and pay property taxes to the town. They also get to vote on the town budget by virtue of their property ownership.

I agree with this statement 100%. Might be more upset with the teachers and administrators who live in a different town, and pay a small fee to have thier kids attend the district they work in.

[KH02]

So could I go buy the cheapest property/land in a better town and just let it sit there so that my kids can attend the school? Hmm... I guess I get it, property tax is what pays for the schools.