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Of those cases, only 38 have been resolved. Eighty-one remain open and 42 of those are classified as “significant concern” cases.
Data from the superintendent’s office indicates there are 3,889 students currently enrolled in the public school district: 1,972 in the elementary schools, 1,063 at Milton High School and 852 at Pierce Middle School.
Six of those removed were students at the elementary schools, five at Milton High and 11 at Pierce, Phelan said.
He said the sheer number of residency cases has put a strain on resources, including the two officers who receive stipends to investigate residency complaints.
“The hours spent on these cases is time-consuming and at times inhibits the necessary follow-through needed to resolve cases,” Phelan’s report states. “It could be further argued that there is a need for additional staff to maintain the volume of information.”
Phelan did not indicate whether the number of the residency cases this year is more than in past years, saying, “It’s hard to compare the numbers to last year because we’re paying so much more attention to it now.”
However, according to Town Clerk James Mullen Jr., residency complaints have long clouded the school district. Mullen brought the issue to the forefront as a selectman during Town Meeting in 2006, when he suggested up to 100 students from out of town might be attending Milton schools.
“That’s what people in the know were telling me,” Mullen said in a phone interview for this story. “Some of the Town Meeting members were jumping up and down in their seats over this.”
Mullen said the fact school officials are still handling over 100 cases of suspected false residency is proof his past information was valid.
“I was the bad guy for bringing it up,” he said. “Five of the six School Committee members were against me after that. I never got any answers from them. And you see? It’s still an issue.”
Mullen added that it is a situation “every parent should care about.”
“Everyone should be concerned about this,” he said. “Any student [in the town] who shouldn’t be there is impacting our students’ learning.”
Phelan said most residency complaints originate from phone calls and e-mails from residents. An anonymous residency tip hotline is posted on the school system’s Web site. The number is (617) 698-1213.
Superintendent Mary Gormley commended Phelan, who doubles as school attendance officer, for “doing a thorough job of going through every single case that comes in.”
Based upon School Committee member Mary Kelly’s recommendation, the committee unanimously requested a reserve fund transfer of $13,000 from the Warrant Committee to continue residency investigations through the end of the current school year.