Leopold schools: 40 students illegally enrolled

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- Forty students in the tiny Leopold School District -- about a fifth of total enrollment -- are enrolled illegally in the district, school and state education officials said Wednesday.

Leopold superintendent Derek Urhahn said the situation was uncovered when he checked the residency status of every student in the school district in response to anonymous written complaints.

Tom Quinn, the director of school governance for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said Leopold has the largest percentage of students enrolled illegally of any school district he has dealt with.

The district will have to correct the situation, but DESE won't penalize it, Quinn said.

DESE received an anonymous letter in February and another in March alleging that students were illegally enrolled in the school district. After receiving the first complaint, Quinn asked Urhahn to investigate.

Urhahn said school officials recently met with the non-resident families to explain the options available to them to come in compliance with state law. The students will have to pay out-of-district tuition, transfer to the school district in which they live after the end of the current school year or move into the Leopold district, Urhahn said.