Chambersburg board hears CVA enrollment gains and raises concerns about outside cyber-charter residency and costs

Chambersburg Area School District administrators updated the school board Tuesday on the district’s own online program — the Chambersburg Virtual Academy — and on the district’s spending to enroll students in outside cyber-charter schools.

District staff told the board the district currently pays about $8 million a year to outside cyber-charter providers and expects costs to exceed that amount for the current year. Bobby Stein, director of support services, said the district has about 550 students enrolled in 12 out‑of‑district cyber schools and that those tuition rates are calculated using a PD‑363 form that applies the district’s prior‑year budget and average daily membership (ADM) to arrive at per‑student rates.

The administration emphasized the steep rise in costs. Stein said annual outside‑cyber costs grew from about $3.6 million to $7.3 million between 2018 and 2023, and that the district expects the current year to exceed $8 million. She said special‑education tuition rates rose faster than general‑education rates, noting a roughly 73% increase for special‑education cyber rates over the last decade and a 39% increase for regular education rates.

Why it matters: the district pays tuition for students who enroll in external cyber charter schools. Rising tuition — especially for…