Report: Couple Ordered to Pay $14K in Westport School Enrollment Dispute

Westport couple , who are facing charges in a $3.5 million mortgage scam, are reportedly being billed $14,000 by the Westport Public Schools for enrolling their daughter in a town school while living in Norwalk.

According to a recent report in The Norwalk Hour, an investigation by school officials revealed that Bliss enrolled her 7-year-old daughter in a Westport elementary school while she and her family were living in Norwalk.

According to the report, when Bliss was questioned about her primary residence, she changed her address on her driver’s license to 87 Saugatuck Ave., a property she owned but did not live in.

In addition to being ordered to pay the tuition, Bliss was reportedly placed under house arrest for changing her address without notifying her federal probation officer.

Bliss reportedly owns four properties in Westport and said the recession forced her to lease her main residence on Sylvan Road South and move to Norwalk.

During a Board of Education meeting in June, during which school tuition rates were set, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Elliott Landon said unlike other school districts, such as Norwalk, Westport is not inclined to bring criminal charges against people who illegally enroll their children in the Westport Public Schools. Rather, he said, it is the district’s preference to simply bill them for the full cost of tuition.

Landon could not be reached for comment.