County magistrate hears Boardman case involving tuition and residency issues

By DENISE DICK

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — The Boardman schools say tuition must be paid for a student whose parents live out of state, while the girl’s aunt and uncle contend she’s a resident and they shouldn’t have to pay it.

Both sides presented their cases Wednesday before Dennis Sarisky, a magistrate in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. No decision has been made.

Anthony and Katherine Grosso filed court documents earlier this month asking the court to order Boardman schools to admit their niece, 16, into the school system tuition-free. The girl moved here from Las Vegas.

The district argues the girl is a nonresident, defining residency as where the parents live. As such, tuition must be paid for her to attend Boardman High School.

The girl was admitted to school last week without tuition when the magistrate signed a temporary restraining order pending a final determination in the case.

Atty. Matthew T. Fekete, who represents the Grossos, said in his opening statement that the girl, who is a sophomore, eats, sleeps and gets her mail at the Grosso home on West Western Reserve Road.

“It’s her home,” he said.

The couple has legal custody of the teenager.

The Grossos live within the Boardman school district and pay property taxes accordingly, he said.

“A child’s education is paramount to their development, confidence and ability to succeed in life,” Fekete said.

Residency issue

Atty. Christopher J. Newman, who represents the school district, said education is free in Ohio for residents, but for nonresidents, tuition is charged.

For students coming from districts within the state, payment comes from the other school district.

Residency is determined by where the student’s parents live, in this case Las Vegas, he argued.

In a memorandum filed by the district as part of the case, the attorneys write that there are only two ways in Ohio that a child may attend public schools tuition free — “when the child resides in the school district with his or her parents and when the child is being adopted.”

Richard Santilli, school district treasurer, testified that the district receives no state funding for students who are determined to be nonresidents.

Katherine Grosso testified that the girl’s sister attended Boardman schools and no tuition was charged. That girl moved in with the Grossos in 1996 and has since graduated.

Since that time, the district has instituted a centralized enrollment system rather than having people who want to enroll children in the district go through individual school buildings.

Katherine Grosso testified that her niece has been able to catch up on the week of school that she missed, but she believes that absence was detrimental to the girl psychologically.

“She feels that they don’t want her here,” Katherine Grosso said.