The Town of Westport has filed a civil lawsuit claiming a couple is sending their child to a school in Westport, even though they don't live in town.
The suit claims Christopher and Maria Kieras live in Seymour, but have been sending their daughter to Kings Highway Elementary School in Westport. School officials accused Christopher Kieras of falsifying a school registration form, claiming he and his wife live in Westport.
At a prior hearing, a court officer found that the Kieras family did not have enough evidence to support they resided in Westport. Neither Christopher or Maria Kieras were represented by a lawyer at the hearing. The couple has since hired a lawyer.
"Now that they have a lawyer, they hope that all of the facts will finally come out," said Alexander Schwartz, attorney for the Kieras family.
For parents living in Westport, public schools like Kings Highway Elementary are what drew them to the town.
“It's one of the reasons we chose to live in Westport because the public school system is so good,” said Kathrine Abelson.
Many parents with children at the elementary school were surprised to hear the allegations.
“I guess the district has the right to investigate and pursue that and I guess sue them because if we're taxpayers and we're paying for our kids to go to Westport schools, then it's really not fair to the residents,” said Claudia Cohen.
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The school district wants to be reimbursed $27,000 for the cost of the education of what it calls an out-of-town student.
