Valley Stream school officials: Most students belong

The belief that hundreds of students are illegally attending Valley Stream schools simply isn’t true, school officials said at the annual Residency Advisory Committee meeting Monday morning at Memorial Junior High School.

Tony Iadevaio, vice president of the Central High School District Board of Education, said there was a problem many years ago with students illegally attending the schools. The number of students that didn’t belong was likely in the hundreds, he said. But, Iadevaio explained, the combined efforts of the Valley Stream school districts have all but put a stop to this.

From September 2010 to September 2011, Residency Officer Nick Luciano investigated 94 students who were believed to be illegal residents of either the Central High School District, District 13 or District 24. All but 20 of those students were, in fact, legal residents. Those 20 were withdrawn from Valley Stream schools.

Luciano said while there is a residency hotline, it is not used often. In fact, he gets a majority of his tips from faculty and staff. Many reasons draw suspicion about why a student might be there illegally, he said, such as school-related mail being returned, or a parent having a phone number with a different area code. But, Luciano said, many families are moving apartments within the district, and others don’t have home phones anymore, relying solely on cell phones. “If I go to Queens and get a cell phone,” he said, “I might end up with a 718 number.”

He said he takes every tip seriously, and will conduct a thorough investigation to see if a student shouldn’t be attending school in Valley Stream, including monitoring the child’s registered address. Board trustee Bill Stris said that even though sometimes a child might appear to be an illegal resident, often they do belong to a Valley Stream school district. He noted that there is even one block in the high school district’s boundaries that have New York City telephone numbers.

High School Superintendent Dr. Bill Heidenreich said that the district must prove a child doesn’t belong in the schools, so a simple tip isn’t reason enough to kick a student out.

School officials say that the reason there aren’t many illegal students in the schools is because of how difficult it is to even get in the door. The registration process requires that a parent must show several proofs of residency. Luciano said that many parents will take out a registration packet and never return because they realize they won’t be able to meet the requirements.

During the peak registration period from Aug. 22 to Sept. 9 of this year, 223 students completed the process and 19 were on hold for various reasons. Either they lived in another district, could not meet the residency requirements or were living with adults who were not their legal guardian.

Meredith Brosnan, assistant superintendent for business in District 13, said it’s evident that the stringent registration process is working. Few people are being denied entry into the school, she said, because those who don’t belong are discouraged when the see the requirements. “They don’t even try anymore,” she said.

Illegal apartments

Vincent Toma, a Franklin Square civic association leader, said many in his community, which is part of District 13, are concerned about illegal apartments. He said the perception is that Valley Stream village is tough on illegal apartments, so Franklin Square is the place to go.

Sal Costanzo, code enforcement director for Valley Stream, said he and his officers thoroughly investigate any tips on illegal apartments. He also said that the village court has been cooperative, allowing home inspections for up to two years after an illegal residence is found. In those situations, the tenant gets relocated and the homeowner is fined.

In Franklin Square, the crackdown of illegal apartments is up to the Town of Hempstead. Heidenreich said that the school district has no authority to do anything about an illegal apartment, but can share those tips with the appropriate town or village. In fact, he said, students in illegal apartments within the district’s borders are still entitled to receive an education in Valley Stream.

Assemblyman Brian Curran said he believes that illegal apartments, not students illegally attending school in district they don’t live in, is the bigger problem.

The district must also continue to educate students who become homeless while enrolled in Valley Stream schools. Dr. Tracey Nekulak, the high school’s assistant superintendent for personnel and administration, explained that this is federal regulation to allow children stability in school while going through a difficult period in their lives. Even if they are placed in a shelter or live with family outside the district, those students are entitled to stay.

Additionally, if a family is forced to temporarily relocate, such as if their house had a fire, the students can stay in school.

Iadevaio and Stris both said that school officials take the issue of residency very seriously, and have invested money to have a person dedicated to the issue. Stris noted the Residency Committee is fulfilling its mission to aggressively pursue students who don’t belong, keep out students from other communities before they even enter the district, and educate the public about the policies.

“The board is really serious about making sure that all students in the district belong in the district,” Iadevaio said, “because it is very expensive to educate a child.”