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Board urges no clemency for Akron mom
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
The state parole board is urging Gov. John Kasich to reject clemency for the Akron mom who purposely and illegally enrolled her children in the wrong school district.
In a unanimous decision released Friday, the panel said Kelley Williams-Bolar should complete the terms of her probation and prove over time that she will refrain from similar illegal behavior before a pardon is considered.
“At this point in time, Ms. Williams-Bolar is a wholly undeserving candidate for any type of clemency,” the board wrote in its decision, adding later, “Ms. Williams-Bolar demonstrated a pattern of deceitful behavior, both before and after her criminal indictment. Moreover, postindictment and conviction behavior that was presented at the clemency hearing demonstrate that she continued this same pattern of conduct and deceitfulness.”
Kasich received the recommendation Friday and has no deadline for issuing a decision.
Williams-Bolar was convicted on felony charges, spent about 10 days in jail and was placed on probation for falsifying residency records after it was discovered that she enrolled her children in the wrong school district.
The case became a rallying cry for civil rights advocates and opponents of Ohio’s method for funding public education and the disparities that exist between inner-city and suburban schools. She appeared on national television discussing the case and received support from the Rev. Jesse Jackson and other civil rights leaders.
The case caught the attention of Kasich, who has mentioned Williams-Bolar as part of his push to increase the number of vouchers made available to students to attend charter or private schools. The governor requested that the state parole board consider the case.
But during her clemency hearing in July, Williams-Bolar downplayed the racial issues, saying she enrolled her children in the Copley-Fairlawn City School District for safety reasons after a break-in at her home. She used her father’s address on enrollment forms and said her children would go to his house after school instead of their own home a couple of miles away.
But prosecutors said the enrollment was just one in a series of deceptive acts by Williams-Bolar. They said the Akron mom was uncooperative during the investigation of the incident and has not taken full responsibility for breaking the law.
On Friday, the parole board sided with prosecutors in the case, saying Williams-Bolar’s reasoning didn’t add up.
In the strongly worded decision, members wrote, “Ms. Williams-Bolar was faced with a no more difficult situation than any other working parent who must ensure that their children are safe during before and after school hours in their absence. Most parents find legitimate and legal options to address this issue. Ms. Williams-Bolar’s only response was to be deceitful.”
They added, “Ms. Williams-Bolar continues to misrepresent herself as living at her father’s residence. She admitted during her clemency hearing that she had her driver’s license renewed and listed her father’s address as recently as a few weeks ago. She does not seem to understand nor accept the fact that the Black Pond address is not her legal residence, when she has resided and continues to reside at the Hartford Avenue address.”