Wanting a better education for her child, a homeless single mother enrolled her son in a neighboring district’s school—and now faces a 20-year prison sentence and a $15,000 fine.

 

Tanya McDowell avoided putting her son into a Bridgeport, Connecticut, school and instead enrolled him last year in kindergarten at Brookside Elementary School, located in the Norwalk school district. The African-American woman said she divides her time between an apartment in Bridgeport, where she’s a legal resident but only lives when the lease holder is out of town, and the Norwalk Emergency Shelter and her minivan.

 

She said she had no idea moving her kid into a different district amounted to a crime. Norwalk officials have charged her with first-degree larceny, because they say McDowell stole the $15,686 the district spent on her son’s education for the four months he was there.

 

Ten years ago, McDowell served time for robbing a bank, and in November she pleaded not guilty to possession of marijuana and crack cocaine with intent to sell. On the other side, Suzanne Vieux, the Norwalk Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney in charge of the case, is the step-daughter of Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia, who has publically spoken out against McDowell. At a hearing on April 27, McDowell’s attorneys asked that the case be moved out of Norwalk.

 

An educational advocacy group, the Connecticut Parents Union, is raising funds to help pay for restitution should McDowell be found guilty.