Republican congressional candidate Jackie Auringer is accusing Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan of sending his children to public schools in the Washington, D.C., area while presenting a suburban New York property as his primary residence.
Auringer, who is challenging Ryan for a House seat representing New York’s Hudson Valley, has asked officials to investigate whether Ryan or another member of his household claimed D.C. residency to qualify a child for tuition-free public education.
“Pat Ryan has collected more than $60,000 from taxpayers for lodging in Washington while receiving a $12,400 veterans property-tax exemption on his claimed primary residence in New York,” Auringer said.
“At the same time, we now know his family has been using DC schools. The question for DC officials is simple — who claimed DC residency, and were those representations accurate?”
Auringer submitted a complaint to the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education, or OSSE, the agency responsible for examining questions involving public-school residency. She said the agency is required to review allegations of possible enrollment fraud.
The dispute echoes an argument previously made by Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has said an elected official’s decision about where to educate their children can signal whether that official is truly invested in the community they represent.
During her 2018 primary campaign, Ocasio-Cortez criticized then-Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley for sending his children to schools in Virginia rather than enrolling them in the Queens-Brooklyn district he represented. Crowley’s family lived in Virginia full time, although he maintained a residence in the district.
“A Democrat who takes corporate money, profits off foreclosure, doesn’t live here, doesn’t send his kids to our schools
She shocked the political world by toppling Crowley, who was also the Queens Democratic Party chairman, in the that year’s primary election.
The 18th District encompasses parts of Orange, Dutchess and Ulster counties.
The Auringer campaign claims it has evidence that at least one of Ryan’s children attended a DC public school in 2024.
Under DC rules, only one parent with custody needs to be a DC resident for a student to attend as a resident, meaning it could be legal if Ryan’s wife, Rebecca, claimed District of Columbia residency, according to Auringer’s camp.
Nonresident students permitted to attend are required to have a tuition agreement and pay tuition.
DC law also could impose penalties when a person knowingly provides false information to a public official in connection with student residency verification. Those penalties include retroactive tuition and either a fine of up to $2,000 or imprisonment for up to 90 days.
Cases involving knowingly false residency information may also be referred to the DC Office of the Attorney General.
“This is simple: Is Pat Ryan paying his share of school taxes anywhere?” Auringer asked.
“The records exist,” Auringer said. “OSSE should review them, determine what representations were made about residency and whether they were accurate, and take whatever action the facts warrant.”
Ryan refused to answer whether his two sons are enrolled in school in DC or the 18th District.
“For the safety of his family, we do not comment on the location of his four- and seven-year-old children,” a Ryan spokesperson said.
Ryan, a former Ulster County executive and Army veteran, was first elected to Congress in 2022 and is seeking a third-term.
He’s heavily favored to win re-election. The independent Cook Politcal Report rates the district as “solid Democrat.”
Auringer works in her family’s construction business, Urban Precast, where she serves as a project manager and managerial accountant.
Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms at an annual salary of $174,000.
