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Board hears report that attendance, not course rigor, drives most transfers to cyber charters
Summary
The Jersey Shore Area School District board reviewed a report showing 42 student withdrawals to cyber charter schools this year and heard that attendance issues were the leading documented reason; the superintendent said local magistrate data show few truancy prosecutions for charter enrollees.
Jersey Shore Area School District board members on May 18 reviewed a district report tracing this year’s 42 student withdrawals to cyber charter schools and heard that attendance problems — not course‑level avoidance — accounted for the largest share of cases.
Superintendent Dr. Ulmer told the board she examined each withdrawal with principals and guidance counselors and presented a two‑page report showing grade‑level distribution and parents’ or students’ stated reasons. "The number one reason kids are leaving us to go to cyber charter is truancy," she said, summarizing the district’s findings and the way the statutory definition of "habitually truant" (six unexcused days) affects options for stopping withdrawals.
Dr. Ulmer said she called District Magistrate Judge Dieter to ask how often cyber‑charter truancy cases appear in local court and relayed that Judge Dieter, who has served four years, reported she had seen three cyber‑charter truancy cases in that time. Dr. Ulmer said that contrast — district records showing many withdrawals for attendance reasons while the magistrate’s office has few cases — suggests reporting and enforcement differences between providers.
Board members asked for trend data going back multiple years and for the district to provide more detailed exit‑survey results. Dr. Ulmer said student accounting could pull prior years’ withdrawal counts but that granular reasons might be less reliable because of low survey response rates.
The superintendent also flagged a separate billing issue: some pupils already enrolled in cyber charters later move physically into the Jersey Shore district, which makes the district financially responsible for their enrollment even though the student never attended a district building. The board asked staff to return with multi‑year withdrawal trends and a more detailed breakdown of the "mental health/social emotional" category, which the report grouped reasons such as anxiety or school aversion.
The board did not take formal action on the report; members directed staff to gather additional data for a future meeting.
