Posted on 11/15/2004 9:23:00 AM PST by crushelits
PITTSBURGH — A suburban Pittsburgh school district is reviewing whether it should be paying for U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum's children to use its Internet-based school, since the Pennsylvania senator and his family live in Virginia.
The Penn Hills district has spent $100,000 educating the Republican's children since 2001-02, said Erin Vecchio, a school board member who requested the review. She also is head of the local Democratic committee.
"I'm concerned because [he is] taking away from my kid. That $100,000 ... could be going to my kids, a computer or something," said Vecchio, who has three children enrolled in Penn Hills schools.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Loudoun County schools are fine - as far as public education goes. I think he is semi-home schooling and this is a loop hole that allows him to say they go to public school in PA. Obviously they are not.
You hadn't seen that, yet?
Hilarious. Even though I have no dog in that fight, I thought it was brilliant.
Casey is there #1 bet, and they know it.
If the Dems bungle this up and don't get him nominated, they will NEVER return to power anytime soon.
I think Rendell likes his job right now. He'll be marginalized in the Senate.
Huh? So you're saying something that should cost between $48,000 - $72,000, but really costs $100,000 is a bargin? Is this that new math?
In PA the cost to the school district of someone attending cyber-charter school is around $5000 (don't know the exact figure), whereas typical school spending per pupil averages over $8000 in PA. So bull - the school district still "makes" $ 3000 at least towards the brick-and-mortar schools even tho the kids never darken the doorways. As usual, public school idiots (sorry, administrators) can't do their math.
He has 6 kids - each probably somewhere between 8-10K per year, for 2 years. You do the math.
Is that MY fault that he lives in a county with lousey schools? Should a school system FUND his kids education while he lives in a $757,000 house ELSEWHERE?
I don't think so. He does okay as a Senator. There is NO reason for this. It's wrong.
Leesburg, VA median home price = $275,000
So what size are the two homes in western Pennsylvania and suburban Washington??? Number of bedrooms?
As for the $100,000, I thought I read that Santorum has a lot of kids, and they may have taken the average cost per student in his district and multiplied it by the number of kids he has. It MUST be cheaper to educate a kid in cyberspace than in a bricks n' mortar school!
Probably far less than meets the eye here!
Not a chicken little at all.
Bob Casey Jr. will beat Rick Santorum by 5+ points. If the Dems nominate him, we lose the seat. But the Dems have bungled things before, so we'll see what happens.
Santorum's spokeswoman, Christine Shott, said the senator and his wife, who have six children, have divided their time between their Virginia home and the one in Penn Hills since they bought the Pennsylvania home in 1997. Shott wouldn't specify how much time the Santorums have spent in the Penn Hills residence, but said Santorum pays taxes, including school taxes, on the property. Under Pennsylvania's 2002 cyberschool law, the district in which a student lives must pay the cost of tuition for students enrolled in online schools. Virginia has no such provision. The Santorums' Penn Hills home was assessed for $106,000 last year, records show. The couple's home in Leesburg, Va., was assessed at $757,000 this year, according to records. Cyberschool students access their assignments and teachers primarily through school Web sites using their own computers, which can be located anywhere. As part of his duties as a senator, Santorum is required to travel often; his children often travel with him, Shott said. Penn Hills School Superintendent Patricia Gennari said the matter is under review. "As we would do in any case for any citizen if there is a question of residency, the staff is looking into it," he said.
This is my old SD...I used to live in Penn Hills... The cost of $100,000 is not per year... its the total spent over the years.
Santorum has a little shack... a little 2 bedroom cape cod... its not woth the $106k its assessed at. He won't appeal it because of appearances, but the house is probably worth about $60,000k.
I could post a picture from the county tax assessment website, but it would give the address etc...
Why is an internet based program as expensive as actually sending the kids to school in district? Sounds like PA is ripping off it's taxpayers if you ask me.
Not so much anti-Santorum.. But Dems have a very powerful candidate in Bob Casey Jr.. He'll steamroll into the a long Senatorial career. I don't believe there is anybody who can stop him.
"He has 6 kids - each probably somewhere between 8-10K per year, for 2 years. You do the math."
Actually, it looks more like 6 kids times the 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004 school years (and maybe even part of another year). That's a minimum of 18 to divide the $100,000 by. That equals about $5500 per year per child which is in line with what someone else indicated is the Internet charter school number for PA.
If you still cannot follow the math, that's a net $60,000 free to the school district, since they provide no services for this money. The woman making these accusations hasn't done her homework.
Didn't Casey Jr. lose the Democrat gubernatorial primary to Rendell in 2002?
Yep; and it the LAW in PA:
"Under Pennsylvania's 2002 cyberschool law, the district in which a student lives must pay the cost of tuition for students enrolled in online schools. Virginia has no such provision."
Is this guy saying that all of that money goes ONLY to pay for Santorum's kids? I doubt that.
median single family home price is way above 275,000 - that sound slike median for a townhouse. Single family is probably more like 450-500,000$.
Take my word that I know to the penny the financial model of how this particular school operates (writing this from PA). If a student opts out of his home school district and opts into the cyber school, the home district must divert 80% of its per-pupil costs for that student to the cyber school. The feeling in the school is, Santorum will not survive this--which is to say, he cannot have it both ways: live effectively in VA, but have a PA school district pay for his kids' education.
I seem to remember a flap over Daschle's residency, taxes, etc. And many on this board were quick to point out the very modest home he maintained in S. Dak. was actually for his mother.
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