Kelly Williams-Bolar broke the law. She falsified documents in order to send her children to a school district they don’t live in. She was charged with a felony for her deed.
The jury deliberated for seven hours, and the courtroom was packed as the sentence was handed down. She was convicted on two counts of tampering with court records after registering her two girls as living with their grandfather in Copley Township when they actually lived with her in the housing projects in Akron, Ohio.
The court determined that sending their children to the wrong school was worth $30,500 in tuition and five years in prison. The judge reduced that to 10 days in jail, which she has already served.
Williams-Bolar simply wanted a choice for her children. She wanted them to have an education worthy of their potential, and so, she lied. In the eyes of the law, this case is cut-and-dry.
But when we talk about what is right and wrong morally, it’s not that simple.
Doling out resources
We all know public education is inadequate and unequal in this country, even after (or perhaps because of) the oft-touted Brown v. Board of Education.
Williams-Bolar’s children are black. They are required by school-assignment guidelines to attend their neighborhood school, which just happens to be low-achieving.
A part of me understands why school districts so carefully covet their resources and shun those that, by law, policy or practice aren’t entitled to it — in this case, two black girls. Quality education in America is not a right; if it was, every child would have access to a top-notch school.
Instead, we have the achievement gap, the legacy of segregated education: On one side, children succeed; on the other side, they don’t.
We know it’s not because of the ability of some children to learn at a higher level than others. This is about resources, and when I say “resources,” I mean money, access, high-quality teachers, magnet programs, textbooks, desks and a safe, secure, nurturing environment conducive to successful learning.
The irony
As a mother of two black kids in public schools, I sympathize with Williams-Bolar.
My kids are lucky. When I realized that — simply because of our ZIP code, my kids were going to be tracked into schools where they likely would not be successful, and likely would not go to college as a result — I moved my family to a different school district.
It cost more in living expenses. It put us farther away from family and peer groups. But they’re getting the education they’re worthy of — not everyone can do that.
I don’t fault Williams-Bolar for her decisions or her circumstance; sometimes, things are beyond our control. For what it’s worth, though, I was only able to get a higher-paying job and move because I had a kick-ass education growing up.
Maybe the simple answer is for this mom to get a better job, to make more money. That way she can pay her debt, and if she’s lucky, in a couple years, she’ll be able to move on up to the east side.
Nope.
Ironically, painfully so, Williams-Bolar was going to school to become, of all things, a teacher. She can kiss that goodbye. As the judge in the case was more than eager to point out on the record during sentencing, now that she is a convicted felon, she’s barred from teaching in the state of Ohio — forever.
Criminal lies
I’m not about to make excuses for breaking the law. Nor am I going to point out how many people do the exact same thing as this mother and never get caught, or if they do, they don’t go to jail for it.
It’s ironic, shameful. It’s simply pathetic that, for some, the difference between quality education and not is a lie, and if you tell the lie, you’re a criminal.
When such a thing is even possible in this country, save the American-dream talking points — I doubt Williams-Bolar or her children want to hear it.
SABLE VERITY covers social and political issues for KBCS Radio and a number of on-line and print news outlets.[[In-content Ad]]