Great news, folks!
Kelley Williams-Bolar was released from the Summit County Jail Wednesday morning after serving all but one day of a 10-day jail sentence for improperly enrolling her children in Copley-Fairlawn schools.
A jail official confirmed Williams-Bolar was released at about 10 a.m.
Common Pleas Judge Patricia Cosgrove gave Williams-Bolar credit for one day of time served when she was arrested and jailed on multiple felony charges in November 2009, court records show.
On Jan. 18, Williams-Bolar was sentenced to 10 days in jail after a jury convicted her of two felony counts of tampering with records.
The offenses involved several instances of signed or sworn school registration forms, applications for reduced or free school lunches and other official documents authorized by Williams-Bolar when she enrolled her two girls in Copley-Fairlawn schools in August 2006.
In other developments in the case, Akron City Council President Marco Sommerville said he planned to meet with Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh at 2 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the issue of why the case could not have been resolved without the filing of felony charges.
Williams-Bolar, a single mother who was going to college and working as a teaching assistant at Buchtel High School, had no previous record.
Within hours of the sentencing hearing, Cosgrove spoke out after becoming the target of public outcry over the case, which threatens the mother's job and her hopes to become a school teacher.
Cosgrove said the prosecutor's office refused to consider reducing the charges to misdemeanors during numerous closed-door talks to resolve the case outside of court. (source)
Now we need to hear from the over-zealous prosecutors office as to why this matter wasn't dealt with appropriately and at least counted as a misdemeanor and not a felony. Big congrats to all the people who took to the internet by signing the petition at
change.org. And a hearty thank you to Judge Patricia Cosgrove for doing what was right and just. See folks, with a little bit of work, we can make things happen. Hopefully she'll be able to fulfill her dream of being a school teacher; she shouldn't have had it come to this.
