Resident urges Dover Area SD to highlight large monthly payments to cyber charter; board says treasurer's report can flag the line item

During the meeting’s public comment period, resident Chris Rotolo urged the Board to press state lawmakers over cyber charter funding and asked that the district make cyber charter payments easier to find in financial reports.

Rotolo said he found a payment of $277,244.74 to a cyber charter provider in the district financial reports and calculated that if that amount were paid monthly it would total roughly $3 million per year. "Instead of that money coming and staying here to educate our students here at Dover," he said, "my hope is they vote accordingly" in Harrisburg on the funding formula.

He asked the Board and candidates for the Board to ‘‘sound the alarm’’ to local representatives and recommended that the treasurer’s report keep the cyber charter line item highlighted so the public can find it more easily.

President Conley and other Board members responded during the public comment period that the business office would be asked to provide more information. Conley said the difference in employment terms cited earlier is set by state law and Board policy and that the business office would be asked for the savings estimate Rotolo requested. "We don't have any update on that [police station/CTE] project," Conley added in response to another speaker but agreed the treasurer's report could show specific items more clearly.

No formal Board action was taken during public comment; Board members said administrative staff would follow up with the business office and that the Board values public input on financing issues.