Want Your Child To Attend Greenwich Public Schools?

Connecticut General Statue and Board of Education Policy requires students who are enrolled in the Greenwich Public Schools to be residents of the Town of Greenwich.

And to that end, for years, the school district required parents to prove they and their children are town residents. This year, there's an added requirement—all documentation must be notarized.

“I think a 1/2 hour of my time validating my sons' residency is well worth it for the educational support they are getting from this town's taxpayers," said Board of Education Member Steve Anderson, a vocal proponent of the Residency Verification system that is now used by the district.

"Proactively addressing residency is a strong sign that we are safeguarding precious tax dollars and keeping our resources focused on those entitled to a Greenwich education," Anderson said.

When Anderson joined the board in 2005 he tried to start the residency ball rolling. While it took a couple of years to “build consensus,” the first  residency verification system was put into place in December 2007 for the 2008-2009 school year.

Fast-forward a few years, and residency verification has been tweaked to put even more safeguards in place. According to Director of School Safety Services Thomas Bobkowski, the process was changed in January 2012 “for accountability” purposes.

During the board of ed's budget process last fall, there were questions raised about “the ability to do another checkpoint without additional dollar allocation,” Bobkowski explained. Currently, all new students to the district including incoming kindergartners, as well as all rising 9th-grade students are required to have their Greenwich residency verified.

While adding another year perhaps from grades 5 to 6 is a future possibility, Bobkowski said that in response to the board’s inquiries, “the department has redesigned and enhanced the verification forms” in addition to requiring them to be “notarized in an attempt to avoid fraud and enhance the district’s ability to defend” its position.

Prior to Jan. 1, explains Bobkowski, “if we had found a family" (attending GPS fraudulently) and “if we turned them into the police, there would have to be an arrest.”

This new system allows the district and the parents “wiggle room” to rectify the situation before involving the police. In addition, “the old system had no accountability as far as fraudulent (representation),” said Bobkowski. In other words, there was “no recourse for us to get them out and we couldn’t recoup our losses.”

Those residents who rent in Greenwich also are required to produce an affidavit signed by their landlord, which also needs to be notarized. “Most people are applauding what we are doing,” said Bobkowski. So far, he has received push back from only 1 out of hundreds of landlords.

Also in January, the department began creating a database of residents attending GPS who lease which will include the property owners (landlords) as well as sponsor families to assist in tracking. For example, when once a lease is expired, the district is now sending a reminder letter that the verification will need to be updated to reflect the new Greenwich lease period. The same will hold true for sponsor families.

Bobkowski is committed to making the whole process as customer friendly as possible including having notaries available at Board of Ed's headquarters in the Havemeyer Building. Also, the forms now are available on the GPS website. (Here is an insider’s tip: if you are having difficulty printing a page (from a PC), simply hit Control P for a quick print.) He would also like to see an evening time slot for registering added in the future.

Bobkowski, who prior to this position, ran security at GHS for 5 years, says that his department receives many “tips” regarding suspected outside residents attending Greenwich schools. “Town residents have logged many complaints in past,” he says.

Anderson sees the “tip” process as effective stating that “word of mouth is demonstrates that Greenwich is very serious about giving the best education possible to every student entitled to a Greenwich education and that we will protect our taxpayer dollars so that those trying to illegally receive a Greenwich education will not siphon monies away from those entitled to a Greenwich education.”

And be forewarned, if one thinks Bobkowski doesn’t follow through on the tips, think again. He reveals that there are instances where he has “visited” an address only to find 15 mailboxes in a lobby for only 5 apartments and all the mail from Greenwich Public Schools “on the floor.” He has also visited addresses only to find a mailbox, water and electrical meters, but an empty lot without a residence. In these instances, measures were taken to ensure students were not allowed to remain in the system.

As for long-standing rumors of kids coming over the Mill Street bridge from Port Chester to attend GPS, Anderson responds “the ‘standard rumor’ is the masses who come over from Port Chester into New Lebanon or Hamilton Avenue, but the numbers that the Board saw a few years back indicate that each and every school (whether Western, Central, Eastern, backcountry, elementary/middle/high, etc.) can have these issues.”

Bobkowski confirmed that there was a check conducted on the license plates at New Lebanon School and all were verified as Greenwich residents. While the district and the Greenwich Police Department work collaboratively, the police cannot check plates without just cause.

Other resources used regularly by the department include a monthly cross-check of mailing addresses via a United States Post Office tool called Verimove, monitoring real estate transactions in the newspapers and monthly touch points with the Town Clerk’s office.

Even with these resources and tools, there are challenges including a plethora of weekly leases in which the landlord also pays the utilities as well as handwritten leases.

The new notary process put into place as well as the increased publicity regarding the removal of students not entitled to a free education in Greenwich should act as a strong deterrents. There may be parents who feel that it is all a major inconvenience but it is doubtful they would complain that their tax dollars are being protected.

What you will need for NEW students:

• 1. Photo Identification (Parent Driver’s License, DMV I.D. Card with Greenwich address, or Passport);
• 2. Student Birth Certificate with raised seal or Student Passport)
• 3. Ownership / Residency Document (mortgage statement, Town of Greenwich Real Estate tax bill, and completed Notarized Affidavit of: Parent/Guardian/Sponsor of Legal Residence.
• 4. Original lease / rental agreement, signed by the landlord with the landlord’s telephone number, and notarized and signed Landlord Affidavit)
• 5. Two current utility bills, (cable television, water, electric, gas or oil). Note: telephone bills will not be considered.

Residency verification office hours are from 8:30 – 1:00 p.m. and 1:30 to 3:00 p.m Monday through Friday. The office is closed 1:00 to 1:30 p.m.

For questions call: Kim Guaragna (203) 625-7421 or Thomas Bobkowski (203) 625-7478.