MERCED, Calif. – Merced police arrested 10 parents late last month after their children racked up repeated unexcused absences in the new school year.

The Merced County District Attorney’s Office charged 10 parents with misdemeanors for contributing to the delinquency of a minor as part of an Aug. 30 sweep, and at least one of the parents spent the night in Merced County Jail.

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According to the Merced Sun Star:

The arrested parents were: Nancy Benitez, 42; Ana Luzania, 34; Rosalind Hardin, 46; Jose Gonzales, 45; Ana Salas, 43; Bernadette Thomas, 45; Vanessa Montufar, 32; Fabiola Higareda, 44; Jennifer Villa; and Kristin Jacobs, 35.

All of the parents arrested live in Merced, and their students attend Merced City Schools such as Gracey Elementary, Tenaya Middle School, Wright Elementary and Givens Elementary, court records show. The charges stem from absences last school year.

All of the parents were arraigned immediately by Merced Superior Court Judge Mark Bacciarini after going through the school district’s Attendance Review Board, which holds hearings, offers services and conducts home visits before resorting to arrests, according to Brian Meisenheimer, director of pupil services.

“It’s a lengthy process,” Meisenheimer said. “If we can provide supports in any way we can, we want to do that. We want to help them. It’s not about being punitive. It’s about finding resources.”

Merced City Schools Superintendent Steve Tietjen stressed that parents were arrested “only after every other effort to get these kids to school has been exhausted.”

“Countless studies have shown that students who are chronically absent from school fall behind their classmates and are at greater risk of dropping out of school,” District Attorney Larry Morse told Your Central Valley. “Similar studies show that high school dropouts are at least eight times more likely to be in prison or jail.

“They also earn less money, pay fewer taxes and are more likely to collect welfare,” he said. “We fail our children, we fail our public safety and we fail our communities if we do not do everything in our power to see that kids graduate from high school”

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Meisenheimer told the Sun Star that one absence can put students two to three days behind their classmates, and the district is working with Merced County Behavioral Health Services, Child Protective Services, the Merced County Probation Department and others to ensure they make it to school.

“The stakes are simply too high for these kids and we owe them our best efforts to see that they receive the education they deserve,” Tietjen said.