Court date for Montgomery County parents arrested for homeschooling 1/26 - Little support for DA

If you have been following the case of Richard and Margie Cressy, a town of Glen (Montgomery County, New York) couple who were arrested earlier this month on child endangerment charges for failing to file a homeschool plan with the Fonda-Fultonville School District, then you already realize that it is an absurd case of the government overstepping its bounds. While many people have come out in support of the Cressys, virtually no one is supporting the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department or the DA, Jed Conboy.

I will not rehash the entire case, but will leave links at the end of this article for those not too familiar with it. However, some new aspects of the case have been brought up in the editorial section of the Daily Gazette in Schenectady.

In a letter to the Editor on January 16, 2010*, Fultonville resident Chris Leis explains what really motivated a "neighbor" of the Cressy family to call authorities.

"The resident that called authorities was more concerned about a long-standing territorial dispute they had with the Cressy [family] than they were about the children’s well-being. If this was not the case, they would have made the call to authorities six years ago."

Leis also stated that a court date has been set for the Cressy parents for Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. at the town of Glen Court, Erie Street, Fultonville. Here is an opportunity for people in the Capital District and Mohawk Valley regions of New York State to support parental rights as well as the rights of homeschoolers.

Frank Van Staveren of Scotia also wrote a letter on January 14, supporting the Cressy family and expressing dismay at the way the story was poorly researched by the media.

On January 8 Steve Fontana of Niskayuna had the following to say in a letter to the editor: "Montgomery County has exhibited a gross abuse of power in the arrest of two parents for home-schooling their children. A fine for a failure to submit state paperwork on time may be warranted, but an arrest for child endangerment for educating your children is clearly wrong."

Of significant interest, the editorial staff of the Daily Gazette wrote an editorial supporting the Cressys, stating "Criminal charges should never have been brought, even if the authorities truly believed there was no education going on, which they did not. But now that the family is in compliance, District Attorney James Conboy should drop the case."

Later on the editorial discloses the following which reveals the negative overbearing attitude of Montgomery County DA Jed Conboy:

"In a phone conversation Wednesday, Conboy said he wasn’t told in advance of the charges by the Sheriff’s Department, but plans to pursue them now. As an indication of his attitude, when asked about “the home-schooling case,” he said, “You mean the no-schooling case.” He said that if the Cressys had produced any piece of paper or anything to show they were educating their kids, “We wouldn’t be having this conversation now.” Perhaps he should have another talk with the Sheriff’s Department spokesman who acknowledged that some proof was offered that the Cressys were educating the children, or the investigator who concluded that they were “somewhat educated.”

"When asked why the Penal Law was used in this case rather than Education Law, which has a provision for bringing charges of “educational neglect” in Family Court when parents of public school students allow them to be chronically truant, or home-school parents don’t do the job, Conboy replied, “I don’t practice in Family Court.”"

If Jed Conboy doesn't drop these charges, Montgomery County residents need to seriously consider voting him out of office during the next election. This is abuse of power.

Finally, here is a quote from Susan Poitras of Albany, who classifies herself as a secular homeschooler. "This fiasco in Glen may seem to be of specific concern only to home-schooling families, but it has larger implications. It is reflective of a trend in this country regarding parental rights. All parents, home-schooling or not, need to be on alert when their elected government officials become this aggressive in their insistence that they know better than we do when it comes to raising our children."

* Gazette articles can only be accessed online if you are a subscriber.

For further information about the Cressy Case:

Articles by Trina Darling, Albany Child Care Examiner, about the arrest of the Cressys.

Report of the arrest of Richard and Margie Cressy in the Leader-Herald.

More coverage by the Leader-Herald on the Home School Defense Legal Defense Association's involvement in the case.

Sheriff Michael Amato's statement about the arrest from the Gloversville Leader-Herald.

Coverage of the arrest of Richard and Margie Cressy by CBS6.

Podcasts of Al Roney's talk show on WGY covering the Cressy Case and interviewing Richard Cressy. (Scroll down to the podcasts of January 5 & 6).