Updated: Nonresident Student Removed From District 205, On the Hook For Tuition Reimbursement

This article has been updated with information about the schools and grades from which students have been disenrolled.

Another student was disenrolled from District 205 Wednesday after it was learned the student was living outside the district's attendance boundary. School Board members discussed the matter in closed session Tuesday, then voted in public to disenroll the student and charge the family $3,015.45 in tuition.

This is not the first time this calendar year the district has disenrolled a non-resident student. Two non-resident students were removed from District 205 in May, and the district pursued a total tuition reimbursement of more than $70,500 from their families. Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Chris Whelton told Elmhurst Patch Thursday one of those students was enrolled as a sophomore at York High School, the other was a kindergartener at Jackson Elementary School.

The student removed Wednesday was enrolled in third grade at Emerson School, Whelton said.

Elmhurst residents have been vocal in demanding the district put more resources toward finding and removing non-resident students, particularly in light of budget constraints.

Last spring, several parents said they believed the large influx of Spanish-speaking students at Conrad Fischer School was due to non-district students.

"You're not doing a good job of making sure those families really live in our community," parent Servando Cedillo said at a May School Board meeting, echoing the comments of others. "I feel like we are being disrespected."

The student removed Wednesday has been illegitimately attending a District 205 school "since at least the beginning of the 2013-14 school year," according to a motion read by School Board member Emily Bastedo. The tuition was calculated from the first day of the 2013-14 school year.

The action is based on the recommendation of a hearing officer. District administrators have encouraged parents to notify the school if they know of any students who are not residents.

Board President Jim Collins said Elmhurst taxpayers can expect to see more of these actions.

"The community has let the board know that to be good stewards of their money they expect (us) to be diligent in providing our own students the very best education we can possibly provide, but also, to be diligent about making sure that we are educating just our own kids," he said.

"The board has directed the administration to be diligent, and the administration is being diligent. You will be seeing more of these student residency motions as the year goes by."

Whelton said the district has "more than seven investigations" pending.