A state representative from Waterloo who faces charges for using bogus records to enroll his children in a local school is now suing the school. Forty-five-year-old Kerry Burt, along with eight other parents, were charged earlier this year with tampering with records.
They are accused of giving Malcolm Price Laboratory School and Northern University High false addresses so they could pay lower tuition rates. The schools, which are located on the University of Northern Iowa campus in Cedar Falls, are refusing to enroll Burt’s children this coming school year, until he pays $37,000 in back tuition.
Now, Burt is taking the schools to court, claiming that Price Lab does not have a tuition contract with the Waterloo school district. The Iowa Board of Regents oversees Price Lab and N.U. High; the schools are used as a training ground for student teachers and for developing educational techniques.
Burt’s attorney claims the Board of Regents, according to Iowa code, has to enter an agreement with a local school district before it can charge tuition. Burt is also asking the court to order the schools to enroll his children. Burt, a state representative since 2008, is not seeking re-election.
He was arrested last year on an OWI charge, when he was pulled over by Ankeny police after a party that was attended by other state officials. He pleaded guilty to the charge last August and was put on one-year probation.
By Roger King, KOEL, Oelwein