Local schools work to catch address scams

School districts nationwide are required to deal with a growing problem: address fraud. Local schools are no exception. However, local districts have different approaches to catching students who are attending school illegally — and taking from taxpayers.

Although the Elmont Union Free School District’s cost per student is one of the lowest in Nassau County, district residents are still paying more than they should due to address fraud, which occurs every year, according to superintendent Al Harper.

During the 2010-11 school year, nearly 40 students were removed from the district for address fraud, Harper said, adding that since the district began conducting home visits about two years ago, the number of students removed from the district has steadily increased. He also said that the district currently conducts home visits for every new registrant — a year-long process — to protect against fraud.

“We have an obligation and desire to educate very child who lives in the community, but we don’t want to educate those who don’t live here,” Harper explained. “We have a responsibility to the homeowners and the taxpayers in this district ... it’s a state law — you have to go to school in the district you live in. This always remains an important issue. ”

Although the Elmont district’s budget has been tight over the past several years, the district budgets between $35,000 and $40,000 annually to investigate suspicious addresses — an amount that pays for two assistants to investigate tips from residents, teachers, bus drivers and other workers, Harper said.

The district’s registrar will conduct surveillance of a student or students coming from a suspicious address, he added.

If a child is suspected of giving the district a fake address, and a family chooses to fight the allegation, Harper said, the district also has to pay for hearing costs. The cost is worth the alternative, he said.

Each student costs the district nearly $16,000, and many fraud cases involve several students.