Gorman wants lying parents prosecuted

Charlotte.com

March 26, 2008

staff writer

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Peter Gorman says too many people are lying to get into good schools and top athletic programs, and he wants the N.C. legislature to make that a crime.

But some school board members question whether CMS should seek to criminalize a parent's desire to escape bad schools or programs when CMS hasn't provided all families with top-notch neighborhood schools.

Gorman said Wednesday that he wants the legislature to make it a misdemeanor for anyone to falsify information on student-registration forms. Such dishonesty has been at the center of the recent controversy over athletic eligibility, with 11 players dismissed from teams, several coaches removed and the forfeiture of three high schools' football seasons.

'We've found that we have a problem with folks not being truthful,' Gorman said.

The problems were revealed in an Observer investigation last year. A special CMS-sponsored community panel is trying to come up with solutions. Gorman is asking the school board to put the request for a new law in the annual package of legislative proposals it gives Mecklenburg lawmakers to push in Raleigh.

The district penalizes students for false residency information by banning them from teams, but there is no penalty for parents, said Nora Carr, spokeswoman for CMS.

'The students often aren't the guilty party when it comes to falsifying a residence,' she said.

Tuesday night, when Gorman proposed adding the request for a new law to the board's legislative agenda, several board members balked.

Trent Merchant said it would penalize parents who, in desperation for better academic opportunities, lie to get their children into better schools. Would it be right, he asked, for the school system that provided the parent with an inferior neighborhood school to punish them them for trying to get their child out?

He said if he were that parent, he'd consider suing the school system.

George Dunlap echoed his skepticism.

'Our court system is already bogged down. We can't prosecute serious criminals. Do you really think (Mecklenburg District Attorney) Peter Gilchrist is going to punish somebody for lying to the school board?'

Gorman said the board appears split on the issue; he expects a vote at its April 15 meeting.

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