Private eyes checking residency of kindergartners in Lombard Dist. 44

Lombard Elementary District 44 is using a private investigation firm to confirm all incoming kindergarten students live within its boundaries.

The district's Superintendent Jim Blanche said he believes the boundary check may be a money-saving measure, possibly allowing the district to employ one less teacher if enough out-of-district students are found and sent packing.

“We know we have a number of kids already that are registered to us but do not live in our community,” Blanche said. “We just want to make sure that we have the right children here.”

The boundary check, conducted by Tinley Park-based National Investigations, Inc., already has turned up about 12 students who do not reside within the district's borders, Blanche said.

And because many of those students all are registered at the same school, the district may be able to employ one less teacher in that building. Blanche declined to specify which school may be affected.

The district has considered conducting a boundary check before, and implemented it this year for the first time to make sure tax money isn't spent on students who actually reside in other districts.

“Let's just educate the kids that are here, that the taxpayers of Lombard are paying for,” Blanche said.

In the first year of the boundary check, Blanche said the residency of all incoming kindergarten students will be checked along with the residency of any older students suggested by principals of the district's seven schools. Between 250 and 300 students are included in the total to be checked before school begins Wednesday, Aug. 24.

National Investigations checks residency by using databases, knocking on doors, and if necessary, conducting surveillance, according to a description of the residency investigation service on its website.

Parents of students found to reside outside Dist. 44's borders will receive a letter saying their child will be disenrolled.

The district intends to continue this program, expanding the checks by one grade each year until the residency of all students from kindergarten through eighth grade is confirmed every year.

“We decided to be systematic and diligent about how we make sure all children are residents of the district,” school board President Becky Kirsh said. “Like all other school districts, we have a finite number of dollars through taxpayers and the state, and we want to make sure that we leverage those dollars in the most responsible way.”

While a few parents may have been surprised to find investigators at their door, parent Laura Johnson said surprised moms like her neighbor were comforted by contacting the district or receiving a letter from the investigator explaining his presence.

Blanche said he received five calls from parents confused about why an investigator came to their doors, but once he explained the district's border-enforcing efforts, all five said they understood and appreciated the checks.

Johnson did.

“I suppose it's defending the taxpayers, which is a good thing,” she said.