Norwich — When Superintendent Kristen Stringfellow recommended the hiring last fall of a residency officer to verify students enrolled in Norwich schools or its designated high schools actually live in the city, she was confident the position would pay for itself quickly.

She was right.

“Total student expenditures eliminated as a result of my investigations for the period of November 12, 2019 (hire date) through August 21, 2020 equals: $1,674,066.84,” Norwich school Residency Officer Ed Peckham wrote in a report to the Board of Education last week.

Peckham, a retired Norwich police detective, was paid $40,191 in the 2019-20 school year. This year, he will be paid $32 per hour plus mileage as a vendor, school officials said.

The three-page report breaks down savings by grade level and categories, such as high school, in-district and out-of-district special education and related support and transportation costs. The savings do not include avoided costs of discovering a new student's residency discrepancy, Peckham said.

He said he is investigating another 10 cases since he wrote the report.

“I didn’t really know what to expect, because in every district I worked in before Norwich, we had a residency officer, or a process in place for confirming residency,” said Stringfellow, who started in Norwich in July 2019. “So, when I got here, I expected everyone was proving residency.”

Stringfellow learned Norwich did not have a system for verifying students’ residency nor an appeal process for parents to contest a ruling. Three school board members now serve on a residency appeals board.

A new policy that started this school year requires new students at any grade level, students who have moved and all eighth graders making their high school choices to provide two forms of proof of residency, such as mortgage bills, real estate deed, lease and utility bills. Families who live with relatives can provide a signed affidavit by the homeowner or lease holder.

For those without two forms of verification, Peckham makes home visits.

“I think one of the things people misunderstand is that the law has to do with whether a child lives there, not that it’s a property that the parent owns,” Stringfellow said. “If I own a beach house somewhere, but don’t live there, I’m not entitled to go to public school there.”

Peckham, who has a small office at the Bishop Early Learning Center, was busy from the start last year. Tips came from parents of other students, teachers and school office staff. A student who frequently arrives late might apologize and say it's because of a long drive to school, Stringfellow said.

Another red flag arose in June, when principals held drive-by eighth grade graduation ceremonies under the COVID-19 shutdown to deliver diplomas to eighth graders at the city’s two middle schools.

“They’re driving to residences and hearing, ‘I don’t know that person, they never lived here,’” Stringfellow said. “We had quite a few of those.”

Peckham said families give various reasons for pretending to live in Norwich. Some want to go to Norwich Free Academy or another desired designated high schools for Norwich. Some say Norwich has better special education programs than their small towns. Or the children want to stay with their friends and classmates after a move out of town.

“Most of them are doing it for reasons many parents would do it,” Peckham said. “Unfortunately, it’s not up to Norwich to absorb that cost.”

Stringfellow said some stories families tell are heartbreaking, but she must represent local families who pay taxes and see their children’s class sizes increase and school resources strained.

If the tuition savings are for high schools, they will be realized the following year, as Norwich pays tuition based on the previous year’s enrollment. Special education savings vary, with immediate savings if Norwich no longer has to pay for staff supports and transportation, Stringfellow said.

In city classrooms, the benefits could be seen in more manageable class sizes, fewer teachers and support services needed in long-term planning.

Peckham reported he discovered six elementary school special education students did not live in Norwich, with costs ranging from $42,000 to $108,000 per student, with three costing more than $100,000 each. Another 12 non-Norwich regular education elementary school students were in Norwich schools, at a tuition cost of $21,360 each. Total savings at the elementary school level was $717,443.80.

Middle school savings totaled $288,336, including one special education student with tuition and services costing $116,952, Peckham reported.

Peckham found 16 high school students who did not live in Norwich, 12 in regular education, one at the NFA Sachem transitional program and three in special education, for combined tuition savings of $360,078.

Out of district placement tuition savings totaled $308,209 for eight students, including one in an intensive program costing $114,365 for tuition, overtime, counseling, educational support and transportation.

Peckham said when parents are contacted, most agree to move the students into schools where they live. Only four appeal hearings have been held to date. Some, he said, look into paying tuition but find it too expensive. He received a tip recently that two Uncasville students were attending NFA and quickly learned the family was paying out-of-district tuition to NFA.

Norwich does not bill the families for their time in Norwich schools, Peckham said, and the district does not bill the parents’ real hometowns.

While Peckham’s work as the district’s residency officer takes up most of his time, he estimated he spends about 15% of his time working with families to improve school attendance for chronically absent students.

“I have also worked with over 20 students, via home visits, resulting in their remarkably improved attendance at school,” he wrote in his report.

He works closely with teachers, school counselors and school psychologists. Unlike school staff, Peckham can go to students’ homes and meet with the students and parents to discuss reasons for the student’s absenteeism.

“Usually, we try to find out what the problem is and work it out,” he said.

c.bessette@theday.com