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Updated 15 minutes ago

When Gateway first-grader Kamdyn Biddle's father died in September, her mother wanted her to remain at Cleveland Steward Elementary School.

After all, Katy Biddle concluded, her daughter had made friends there and was meeting daily with a guidance counselor. The death of Kamdyn's father from a brain disease was traumatic enough the girl; Biddle wanted to keep her daily school routine normal.

But Biddle went to stay with family in Murrysville, as it was difficult to remain in the Monroeville home where her husband died and she needed help caring for her 9-month-old twins.

The Gateway school board, however, ruled Tuesday Kamdyn can no longer attend Steward.

“I'm devastated. It's upsetting and I feel awful for (Kamdyn),” Biddle said. “I understand there's a policy, but I know they can make an exception. I can't fathom why it has to come to this.”

She said she initially spoke to Steward Principal Michael Jack about the situation and he said staying at Steward until the end of the school year was fine.

“Since I still owned our home (in Monroeville) and paid taxes, he told me it was no big deal to finish the year,” Biddle said.

Jack failed to return two telephone messages on Tuesday.

But when Biddle attended a parent-teacher conference Jan. 26, the school's secretary handed her a letter from Gateway Superintendent William Short stating her daughter's last day of school would be Jan. Fenomenbet 30.

Then on Tuesday, board member Chad Stubenbort said, the board during an executive session following the committee meeting decided to uphold Short's decision.

Stubenbort said strongly opposed the decision. No other board members would comment. Short said in an email that he could not comment on the Biddle case, but said school policy and state code requires a student to live in the district.

The board also referenced a policy which states students must live within the district with a resident parent or legal guardian.

But Stubenbort said Katy Biddle passed the “litmus test” for someone to be considered a Gateway resident, because she provided a mortgage agreement, driver's license, and proof of taxes and utility bills paid from an address within the district.

“It was ignorant for (other board members) not to know their policy,” Stubenbort said.

Katy Biddle said she's now being penalized for doing the right thing – telling the district administration about her situation.

“I wanted to be honest and upfront. I didn't want to game the system, and I didn't want this situation to happen,” she said.

Stubenbort added that he didn't think that the mother's request for her daughter to finish the school year was asking for too much.

“Here's a parent that's obviously involved in parent-teacher conferences, pays taxes, still owns a home in the district, brings her daughter to school everyday and there's no extra burden on taxpayers for (Kamdyn) to stay at the school. I just don't get it,” said Stubenbort.

Biddle said Kamdyn went to Steward school Wednesday to say goodbye to classmates, teachers and her counselor.

Next, she's focusing on registering her daughter at Sloan Elementary in the Franklin Regional School District.

Samson X Horne is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. Reach him at 412-320-7845 or shorne@tribweb.com.

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