Parents of chronic truants could face tickets

An ordinance that would allow the Fredonia Marshal’s Office to ticket parents for contributing to their child’s truancy will be considered by the Fredonia Village Board on Thursday.

Marshal Eric Leet said the ordinance would give his department another tool to deal with the “repeat customers,” middle and high school students who have been cited several times for truancy.

In one recent egregious example, Leet said, a student missed their municipal court appearance for their fourth truancy citation.

For younger children, Leet said, truancy is often the result of parents either not putting the effort into getting their children to school or actively preventing them.

Frequently the parents have the philosophy of “I’ve tried nothing and I’m out of ideas,” he said, although he noted that is not always the case.

“Truancy is one of those things where every situation is unique,” he said. “Some students, even young ones, can suffer from conditions like oppositional defiant disorder and parents are just exhausted.”

Truancy citations are a last resort for when nothing else has worked, Leet said.

“The Northern Ozaukee School District will adjust schedules, look at course work and do whatever is in their power to get kids in school and learning,” he said. “We consider having to issue a citation like this a failure.

“We’ve tried everything at that point.”

Leet said the marshal’s office usually writes between six and 12 truancy tickets a year.

In addition to the importance of attendance for student learning, it also factors into the Wisconsin State Report Card for schools.

In small districts like Northern Ozaukee, having only a couple truant students can bring down the report card.

Middle School Principal Charlie Schwartz said at a School Board meeting in  January that he is proactive in contacting parents of truant students, which has resulted in an excellent absenteeism score for the school.

“We feel it’s very important that everyone is aware of where their student is with attendance,” he said, which includes sending out letters and setting up meetings with parents.

“It’s usually one or two students,” Schwartz said. “We just need to figure out the why and get them in here.”

Leet agreed.

“The ones that become repeat customers are rare but occupy a disproportionate amount of the school’s resources,” he said. “You see those names again and again for truancy and other things.”

Schwartz said he tries to help students who simply don’t want to come or don’t have friends to develop positive relationships with teachers, and he works with students who have health issues that complicate attendance to switch to a part or full-time online schedule through Wisconsin Virtual Learning.

But if issues persist, Schwartz said, he works with Leet to write tickets for truancy.

“I don’t like that route. I don’t think anyone does,” Schwartz said.

Being able to issue citations to parents can force those who avoid meetings with district officials to explain why their child is truant before a judge, Leet said.

He said the vast majority of truancy citations are resolved before issuing a fine.

“This is a lengthy and in theory collaborative process,” he said.

A truancy ticket for a child is about $115, Leet said, and the ticket for parents will likely be around $250.

Trustee Kurt Meyle Sr. said he thinks the new ordinance will help convey the seriousness of truancy to parents.

“Sometimes you give it to a kid and it doesn’t mean anything. But with parents, it does,” he said.