GLOVERSVILLE  — A Gloversville woman refused to send her child to school for a significant portion of last school year and then lied to school officials about enrolling the child in school elsewhere, police said Wednesday.

Florence VanNess, 47, was charged by law enforcers with endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

Police arrested her Aug. 10.

VanNess is accused of refusing to send her 14-year-old child to school, allowing the child to be absent from school more than 80 times during the 2021-2022 school year.

VanNess also allegedly lied to the school district about enrolling the child in another district, according to the authorities.

Police made the arrest announcement the week before the new school year is set to begin.

The first day of classes in the Gloversville Enlarged School District is scheduled for Tuesday.

Gloversville Police Chief Anthony Clay, in a released statement, called it unfortunate the criminal justice system had to become involved, but said his department must “ensure children’s education is not neglected.”

“We understand how significant attendance is to a child’s success in school and will continue to work with GESD and the district attorney to address these extreme cases,” Clay’s statement concluded.

Gloversville Superintendent David Halloran and District Attorney Amanda Nellis also issued statements.

Halloran called it a legal and moral obligation for parents and guardians to ensure regular attendance at school for their children.

“As a school district, we will never accept non-compliance on this issue,” Halloran’s statement read. “Not when children’s futures are at stake.”

Nellis noted past involvement from the District Attorney’s Office in such cases.

“We plan to prosecute parents who fail to send their children to school, to the fullest extent the law will allow,” Nellis’ statement read.

“Education provides the building blocks to leading a law-abiding life and our office is committed to ensuring children are attending school,” Nellis’ statement added.

Under New York State’s “compulsory education” law, children must attend full-time school (or homeschooling) until they finish high school or the school year when they turn 16.