A shocking ruling…
On Tuesday, Kelley Williams-Bolar, a single black mother living in state housing, was sentenced to 10 days in jail, 2 years of probation, 80 hours of community service and two felony charges. She was subsequently stripped of her right to work in the state of Ohio as a teacher.
But, why was she convicted? What’s the back story?
After having her home broken into 12 times, Williams sent her two daughters to live in a nearby neighborhood with their grandfather where she could be sure of their safety. During that time, Williams enrolled her daughters in the school district near her father’s home. According to district officials, Williams falsified documents to get her daughters enrolled into a school district that they had not earned the right to attend. They hadn’t paid taxes into the district and should not have reaped educational benefits that weren’t owed to them. The district sent a private investigator out to prove their case, spending over $6000 to show that Ms. Williams and her daughters lived outside of the district. Officials confronted Williams, claiming that she stole over $30,000 worth of tuition from the district. When Williams neglected to pay, her case was submitted to the courts which resulted in a judgment against her and criminal charges.
Who is Kelley Williams-Bolar?
Williams, a teacher’s assistant in the special education program, was only a few credits shy of completing her teaching degree, which would have provided a safe environment and quality education for her daughters. As the current sentencing stands, Williams will no longer be able to pursue her degree in the state of Ohio. Teachers can’t possess any felonies. Ms. Williams-Bolar is a poor single mother on welfare. Her earning a degree would have provided all her needs and uplifted her in a way that she could provide for her own family, something she had been working hard at for years. Now, her dream has been stripped away, to make an example of her and demonstrate the power of the school districts.
Conflicting viewpoints
Since the decision, many support groups have formed on Facebook to discuss the case and show support to a mom who many feel was unjustly punished. The story hits home hard for all those who have lived in poverty, been victims of prejudice or had to make a difficult choice to protect their children. There are many individuals that would see Ms. Williams-Bolar as a criminal and thief who manipulated her way into a free education for her daughters that they didn’t “deserve”. A growing number of Williams-Bolar’s supporters, including myself, feel that the punishment doesn’t fit the crime…especially in this situation. How can we condemn a woman trying to work her way out of poverty?
What are the real issues?
While the school district insists that fraud is the issue with which we should be concerned, I can’t help but feel that fraud has nothing to do with separating the two conflicting viewpoints in this case. It wasn’t fraud charges that forced half of America to choose sides…it was the matter of deciding whether or not Ms. Williams-Bolar, a welfare recipient, “deserves” to have her children in a wealthier district. It’s also concerns the matter of discussing why so many in our nation feel that the almighty dollar is only deserved by those who fit within certain racial and social backgrounds. Does being a poor, black, welfare mother automatically mark one as “undeserving”? The punishment in the case of Ms. Williams-Bolar is extreme and unnecessary. The ruling puts her in a position where she must depend on government aid, along with her daughters. I find this absurd. Why are we punishing this woman by means that forces her to further become dependent on “the system”? This begs the question of reforms in the criminal justice field at large, which has a tendency to keep the “undeserving” down. The goal of this nation should be to make ALL individuals PRODUCTIVE citizens, not burdens to society. Ms. Williams-Bolar’s case should be an example to us all, of just how “the system” works and how those in power find ways to keep certain people down. If this woman has committed a crime, then let her be punished. But also, let the punishment fit the crime and let it allow her the opportunity to correct her mistakes. That is JUSTICE!
© 2011, Chantilly Patiño. All rights reserved.
She just did her best for her kids. If I was in her situation, maybe I would have done the same. And congrats Chantilly for your post! Martine
Thanks Martine for your kind words. Desperate situations call for desperate measures and I think she did the best she could in her situation. Who could have possibly known that having your children attend school in their grandfather’s neighborhood would reap two felony convictions? What a sad burden for a young, single mother to have to carry. I hope that she is pardoned and that her career will be restored to her so that her girls will receive the education that they truly deserve. Thanks again for your comment Martine. I always appreciate a positive voice. :)