Fayette County

schools have no plans to take legal action against parents of children

who allegedly are enrolled in the school district illegally, as Henry

County has done recently, but the issue does bring up the need to remind

parents that proof of residency is a strict requirement.

Melinda Berry-Dreisbach,

public information officer with Fayette schools, said that many new students

be enrolled this spring and early summer, particularly in the elementary

grades.

In order to

expedite the registration process, the school system requires that parents

bring two examples of proof of residency at the time of enrollment, and

one of them must be in the form of either a proper deed or a signed lease

agreement.

"A warranty

deed is preferred since it contains only the physical description of the

property," said Berry-Dreisbach. "No financial information is

recorded or copied for registration."

In addition,

a current electric or gas bill with the name of the person enrolling the

student and the address of service must be presented. The bills can't

be more than two months old.

If current

bills aren't available, copies of previous billing statements can be obtained

"Many

people today are paying their bills online so they don't receive a printed

statement," acknowledged Beverly Pittman of Fayette's pupil services

department. "We have a great working relationship with the power

companies. All parents have to do is contact one of the companies and

they will know exactly what we are looking for."

Residents who

are moving into the county but will not be able to close on their home

until after the school year begins can obtain temporary residency status

for one semester as long as there is a firm closing date in place.

The Board of

Education does not issue temporary residency status for people who have

a buy/sell contingency on a property, Berry-Dreisbach said. When a temporary

residency is approved, parents must pay tuition for their students until

their home closes.

And in a situation

where a family is living with someone else who is a resident of the county,

an affidavit of residency is required. An affidavit can be obtained through

the school district offices from 8-11 a.m.or 1-4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Additionally,

parents are asked to notify the school system immediately when there is

a change of address, even if the change is within the county, Berry-Dreisbach

said.

For more information

on proof of residency, contact Pittman at the LaFayette Educational Center,

770-460-3990, ext. 122.

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