DALTON, Ga. — Officials with Dalton Public Schools are trying to crack down on the number of out-of-district students attending DPS schools.

On Dec. 16, at least 19 letters were mailed to parents who had yet to verify their child’s address, said Don Amonett, assistant to the superintendent. It was a final wave of activity in the home address re-verification project, Letters and phone calls had previously gone out to the parents.

By the end of that day, 10 students’ information was verified. The remaining nine have until Jan. 3 to provide proof of residency or face withdrawal from school unless tuition is paid.

“The letters (on Dec. 16) are the last step to the home address re-verification for city school (attendance) project,” Amonett said. 

He said more than 8,000 letters were sent home with students on the first day of school in August requesting proof of residency. Others were mailed on Oct. 28 and Nov. 18. 

“We also made phone calls to the parents, so this is the final step,” he said. 

Steve Laird, a member of the Dalton Board of Education, said he’s hoping parents respond with valid proof of residency information after receiving the final letter. 

Laird said the attendance re-verification project was started because the student populations in Whitfield and Murray County schools have been declining while the city school population has increased.

“Many members of the community expressed a concern that some of these students were attending DPS when their proper school systems should’ve been one of the county schools,” Laird said. 

The letter in part stated that Nov. 18 was the deadline to receive verification or the student would be classified as out-of-district on Nov. 21. Those students must pay tuition of $1,350 a year or $675 for August through December. The cost month-to-month is $135.

“Our goal is to be responsible to students and the taxpayers,” Laird said. “The challenge you have is that every student costs approximately $4,000 of local taxpayers’ money.”

The letter states that after the holiday break students must be enrolled in their appropriate school. The central office will be open on Jan. 2 for staff to answer any questions parents may have.

“We’re not telling these students they have to leave,” Laird said. “We’re just saying either provide the information, pay tuition or attend the school where you are properly zoned.”