Student wins battle for spot in Montgomery classroom
By: Leah Fabel
Examiner Staff Writer
June 30, 2009
Montgomery County schools relaxed a two-year stance on Monday that kept a 14-year-old North Bethesda resident from receiving a free public education and forced him to tutor himself at a library.
Jeff Sukkasem's plight was first revealed in an April article in The Examiner, in which he and Rockville lawyer Pat Hoover described their legal battle with Montgomery County Public Schools.
According to the school system, Sukkasem did not qualify for free tuition because his parents lived in Thailand and had sent him to live with a guardian in Montgomery for the sole purpose of a good education. School officials said at the time that Sukkasem's guardian would need to pay the $12,000 per year out-of-county tuition.
According to Hoover, the price was too steep for Sukkasem's guardian, who works nights at a hotel. More importantly, he said, Sukkasem is an American citizen and lives in the county without any assistance from his Thai parents, who are divorced and struggling economically in their native home.
News came Monday that the school system had reversed its position, citing a preponderance of time.
"Given the passage of time and the lack of financial support from his parents, we must conclude that his guardian alone is, and has been, providing entirely for Jeff's needs," said a letter from administrator Anita Mostow.
His "purposes in Montgomery County must be for purposes other than attending school free of charge," the letter said.
Sukkasem was one of about 725 students who requested free enrollment in Montgomery County in 2008, despite parents residing outside of its borders. He will become one of about 65 each year whose requests are granted.
"I'm really excited," Sukkasem said, adding that he's most looking forward to "making friends and being able to hang around with them."
In typical 14-year-old fashion, the excitement to actually be in class came as a near afterthought.
"I'm most looking forward to math -- I really like math," he said.
Pat Hoover praised coverage by the media and efforts by local officials aimed at securing Sukkasem's enrollment next year at Walter Johnson High School. Activist parent Janis Sartucci started a Facebook group on his behalf that attracted nearly 800 members, and state delegates including Brian Frosh and Susan Lee wrote a letter to Superintendent Jerry Weast requesting a reason for keeping Sukkasem from the classroom.
