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Chester County Press

Theft of services?

09/11/2013 03:15PM ● By Acl

By Uncle Irvin

 

It appears that the elite Unionville-Chadds Ford School District does not have a stringent policy to authenticate a student's residency, nor does any other school district in Pennsylvania.

This means that the school district is prone to admitting non-residents who pay nothing and commit theft of services. The absence of any definitive policy to check residency lets any parent or guardian who does not live in the district to smuggle their child into the school district for nothing, forcing taxpayers to pick up the tab.

When students enroll, their parents are required to sign a verification which calls attention to penalties for falsification. According to UCF Superintendent Dr. John Sanville, the school district only investigates claims that are reported, instead of verifying each new student. Sanville estimates that in the past two years, 20 or more claims were investigated.

Changing the verification policy to validate each new student would, no doubt, discover many more non-resident students. At an average pupil cost of $15,000, it would pay to verify each new student's address carefully.