FREEHOLD – In order to attend an elementary school or the intermediate school in Freehold Borough a pupil must live in the municipality.
A residency officer was recently hired by the Board of Education to ensure that rule is being adhered to and that the school district is not paying to educate students who do not live in town.
The ability to hire the part-time residency officer at a cost of $15,000 annually was made possible by voter approval of a second ballot question in the April 2007 school election.
According to Freehold Borough Superintendent of Schools Elizabeth O’Connell, the residency officer, Donald Swinarski, has tuned up 12 cases which are now under investigation to make certain that the pupils are indeed borough residents.
Swinarski is a retired Freehold Township Police Department detective who started his work for the school board in November.
O’Connell told the News Transcript that she recently reported to the school board that seven out of the 12 cases being investigated were found to be pupils who do not live within the borders of Freehold Borough.
She said Swinarski is helping the families of those children to register the youngsters in the school district where they reside.
“The families have really appreciated his help,” O’Connell said. “He has always been very professional and there have been no complaints from anyone.”
O’Connell said one red flag which may indicate that a pupil does not live in town is difficulty reaching a family member.
Mail that has been returned or never answered and telephone messages that have never been returned are two things that alert administrators to a potential problem, according to O’Connell, who said these are instances that Swinarski will be asked to check out.
Freehold Borough Board of Education President Jim Keelan said Swinarski is doing great work.
“He is professionally, efficiently and thoroughly investigating all residency related issues for the district,” Keelan said. “He provides a level of service the district was unable to achieve up until now, such as home visits and surveillance for evidence of non-residency.”