Everyone wants the best for their children, but what if the best for your kid comes at four other children’s expense? One Redditor wanted her kids to go to a “good school” in their district for the past year, and she finally got her chance — but she basically had to throw another family under the bus.
The other family had moved from the district but their four children were still attending the same schools. The OP told on that family. With the other family’s kids now booted out, the OP’s kids were accepted to attend. The OP feels bad that one of the kids, who is autistic, will no longer be able to benefit from the special school they were attending — and folks are calling her “heartless” for narcing on the family.
“My children and I moved into a new school district last year. Although we live very close to a great school we were sent to attend another school in the district because the desired school was at capacity. I was informed right before the school year that my two children were next to be enrolled. The housing issue has slowed movers down to a near halt and we aren’t really living in an area with frequent movers anyway. “
“I found out that a family moved out of our district to our inner city schools but was also informed the students were still attending the school in my district. I don’t know the family, but I don’t blame them. The inner city schools are terrible and problematic at best; however, our district is not open enrollment and they should no longer be attending the school.”
“I called the principal and board of education to make a report and I was finally informed last week that my children will be attending our local school and I breathed a sigh of relief. They will start next week and this will be a huge burden lifted for our household.”
“The issue comes from the family that needs to pull their children from school. They found out I made the call and informed me that while I was doing what’s best for my child I was greatly harming all four of theirs. Apparently, one of their children is autistic and thriving with their school. Turns out, three of their kids attended the school I wanted but one of them attended a special school for autistic children. They said he was non-verbal, to now telling his mom ‘I love you.'”
“I felt terrible when they said that but I also didn’t make them move. They did that on their own. They have been telling people about it and of course they think I’m heartless. Some have said I’m an a**hole, but I wanted to see if I mishandled it. So AITA here??”
What do Redditors think?
“Teacher here! NTA! Aside from the fact you pay taxes in that district, the other family needs to ensure that information is correct for emergencies and ensuring districts are given proper funding.” —
bare_necessities01
“NTA. Your taxes go to your district. That other family moved–they no longer pay taxes in that district. It’s a cutthroat world out there now. The other family should have realized that and known it would catch up to them eventually.” —
mosquito13
“Possibly an unpopular take, but ESH. The fact that the US school system is based on ZIP codes is a huge problem. We fund education primarily through property taxes, so the more expensive areas have the better schools. People who can’t afford houses in those areas are essentially condemned to a substandard education. So basically, the US public school system is the biggest a–hole here. The other family in this situation sucks because they were breaking the law. Even if it’s a law that shouldn’t exist, it does, and they needed to follow it. It’s my understanding that many districts will accommodate kids and families with special circumstances. At the very least, before moving, the family should have talked with the district about legal ways to keep their kids in their schools. If they needed their kids in these schools, then they needed to move within the district, or find a way to get a transfer back into the district. You suck because you threw another family under the bus. I get why you did it, but it’s still an AH thing to do.” —
Rredhead926
“YTA, you can do what’s best for your children and still be TA. So yeah, you did what you needed to do but if you can’t live with your choices, you shouldn’t have made it.Also, don’t know if anyone is questioning how the heck OP even got that kind of information. They clearly don’t know the family well enough to know their situation. Whoever snitched is also a major AH. Especially since no one here knows the reason why the family had to move to begin with or it’s being conveniently left out.” —
potatofiend16
“Woof, your comments make you out to be an insufferable parent and squeaky wheel. You make me glad I’m not a teacher anymore, I bet you’re a blast to deal with on the regular. I get it, I went to a middle and high school I wasn’t in district for, as my local school was garbage. To get around it, my parent put me in accelerated classes, and I got a waiver. They didn’t stalk a family of my classmates and then call the manager to get them removed because, ya know, that’s some Tier One Garbage Behavior. I’d be interested to know HOW you discovered when and where to this family moved. It sounds like busy-body nosy sh*t to me. YTA.” —
catsweedcoffee
“YTA, perhaps not legally, but ethically. You disrupted those kids’ lives in order to get your way, and I hope it feels good.” —
AdmiralFelchington
