COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio woman jailed after using her father's address to enroll her children in a neighboring school district told the state parole board on Wednesday that she's remorseful for lying and would do things differently if given the chance.
Kelley Williams-Bolar, 41, of Akron served nine days in jail for falsifying information on records that were used to send her daughters to a suburban school outside their urban district. She said her conviction for felony records tampering threatens her efforts to earn a teacher's license.
"I love my kids and I would have done anything for my children," said Williams-Bolar, who at times got emotional before the Ohio Parole Board.
Prosecutors have defended the felony charges, saying Williams-Bolar willingly broke the law by using her father's address and misrepresenting other information on school documents for the nearby Copley-Fairlawn district. Officials there challenged her girls' residency in 2007, when they were 9 and 13 years old.
Williams-Bolar's older daughter now attends an Akron public high school, while her youngest daughter got a voucher to go to a private middle school.
Gov. John Kasich requested the clemency hearing before the parole board, which will recommend whether he should pardon her. Kasich has the final say.
The case drew national attention as a high-profile example of schools getting tougher on parents who improperly send their children to other districts, usually with better-funded and higher-performing schools. Some people were outraged by Williams-Bolar's dishonesty, and others believed her prosecution and punishment were too severe.
Kasich has used the case to highlight expanded access to educational alternatives, including vouchers, and it became a rallying point for advocates of school choice.
Williams-Bolar, a single mother, said safety was her main concern when she enrolled her daughters in the Copley-Fairlawn district. She said she was worried about leaving her daughters alone because someone had broken into her home.
The district does not have open enrollment, meaning students either must be residents or pay tuition to attend.
David Singleton, an attorney for Williams-Bolar, acknowledged that his client has made mistakes, including writing on a bill from the school that she was deployed overseas. She is not in the military, he said.
"I should have never wrote that," Williams-Bolar said. "That was horrible. That was wrong."
An attorney for Williams-Bolar has previously raised the issue of whether she had been improperly targeted because Williams-Bolar is black. The superintendent of the district has said it was enforcing its enrollment policy and that since 2005, Copley-Fairlawn resolved conflicts with at least 47 other families over illegal student attendance but was unable to reach a resolution with Williams-Bolar and was forced to turn the case over to prosecutors.
Singleton has said he doesn't think race was a factor in her arrest, but believes it was driven by her inability to reimburse the district — something that wealthier families could do quietly and put the matter behind them, while she ended up with a felony conviction.
Asked directly by a board member whether she thought she was treated unfairly because of her race, Williams-Bolar said, "I cannot answer that. I just know that my situation happened for what I did. ... I don't think it happened because of the color of my skin."
Singleton said the idea that her case had to do with race was largely a creation of the media and activists who saw a chance to make a political point.
"This was not about being the Rosa Parks of education," he told the board.
The panel also heard Wednesday from attorneys and Williams-Bolar's friends, family and neighbors.
It's the parole board members' policy to deliver a report to the governor no later than 60 days, though they likely will give him their recommendation sooner.
Williams-Bolar has about 18 months of probation left to serve.
Several board members raised questions about why she should be pardoned when she was still being punished.
Singleton said he recognized the unusual timing and added the hearing was spurred by Kasich. Though he said, his client has served time in jail, and a felony conviction has lasting effects on her future employment.
Asked why she deserved a pardon, Williams-Bolar said, "I know what I did was wrong. I didn't mean to hurt Copley-Fairlawn city schools."