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Superintendent warns he will withhold cyber‑charter payments unless residency verifications arrive
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Conrad said the district has received verification for a small share of cyber‑charter students and will send follow‑up notices, do phone and door checks, and withhold payment until documentation required under Act 47 is provided; he said the district is prepared to escalate the issue to PDE and statewide associations.
Superintendent Dr. Conrad told the Pleasant Valley School District board on March 11 that the district has received only a fraction of required residency verification forms from students enrolled in cyber charter schools and that he will withhold payments to cyber providers until the required documentation is provided.
Under Act 47 and PTE guidance, cyber charter schools must provide documentation that a student resides within the resident district. Dr. Conrad said the district had between roughly 11% and 48% verification rates across the district’s cyber‑enrolled students (the number varied by school and provider in staff counts) and that, with about 356 unverified students, the district faces potential payments on the order of millions of dollars for students with unverified residency.
"I absolutely refuse to pay $4.88 million for students who are not verified as residing in our district," Dr. Conrad said in the work session, adding that staff will send formal letters, follow up by phone, and — where necessary — conduct door checks to confirm residency. He said the district will notify state authorities and education associations and seek legal and policy guidance before making further payments.
Dr. Conrad also described the district’s plan to expand an in‑district cyber program (already in K–5, rolling to grade 6 next year) to provide an alternative to for‑profit cyber providers and to keep students connected to district staff and supports.
Next steps: the district will send verification requests to parents and cyber providers, pursue follow‑up phone calls and in‑person checks where emails bounce, and consult with PDE and legal counsel on payment obligations during the challenge/verification period.
