Cyber schools impact district budgets

By Debra Duncan

VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH

Sunday, April 30, 2006

This year's large increase in the number of cyber students is having a big effect on local school district budgets.

Cyber schools bill the home school district of each student monthly. And, with the number of cyber students doubling or tripling in some districts this year, that's affecting taxpayers.

The law requires local school districts to pay cyber schools for each student from the district enrolled in the cyber school. The districts must pay tuition equal to the costs of educating a student in the traditional school -- anywhere from $6,000 to $8,500 a year, depending on the district.

The tuition rate doesn't include the district's costs for transportation, for instance. So the tuition rate is about 80 percent of the school's total costs of educating a student.

The state reimburses the local school district between 25 percent and 30 percent of that cost, but often not until a year or two later.

Audrey Massimiani, business manager at New Kensington-Arnold School District, said the district pays cyber schools about $6,200 a year for each regular student and about $14,000 for a special-education student.

So, with about 85 students enrolled in cyber schools this year, it will cost taxpayers about $525,000. Local taxpayers will pay about $370,000, with the state paying about $155,000. The local portion equals about 4 mills of the school district's 72-mill tax rate.

Armstrong School District's tuition rate is $7,700, so it will cost taxpayers about $600,000 this year for its 70 students enrolled in cyber schools, with local taxpayers paying $400,000 after the state's nearly 30 percent reimbursement. That's almost one mill of the district's 55-mill rate.

The Pa. Leadership Charter School provides the student with a computer and printer and reimburses parents for Internet service.

Lynn Rodden, coordinator for the regional office of the Pa. Leadership Charter School, located in the Pittsburgh Mills Mall, says the cyber school is saving money by educating students for less than school districts.

But local school district officials don't see it that way.

Charles Pepper, Armstrong School District's Coordinator of Child Accounting, said cyber schools should be subject to the same audits by the Auditor General's office that public schools are, but there are no funds for that.

"These schools are enrolling thousands of students, and taking millions of dollars from public school districts in the state without any accountability," he said. Armstrong School District alone has about 70 students enrolled in cyber charter schools, costing the district over $600,000 this year in tuition costs.

What's more, he says the cyber charter schools have not been diligent in overseeing the enrollment and withdrawal of students, leading to inaccuracies in their child accounting and billings.

"They are slow to get paperwork back and forth when we contest a bill or question a child's eligibility," he said.

"The biggest question is their accountability. They surely can't be spending $8,000 on a kid," he said.

Rodden says it costs a couple thousand dollars alone to provide each student with a computer, printer, Internet service and textbooks.

Apollo-Ridge has 57 students attending cyber schools this year, or 3.5 percent of its enrollment, the highest in the Valley.

Superintendent Michael Vranesevic thinks the state should pay for all costs of students attending cyber schools.

"The state Legislature passed this under the Ridge administration," he said. "They should be paying for it, not the local taxpayers."

Debra Duncan can be reached at dduncan@tribweb.com or 724-226-4668.