Pennsbury Cracks Down On Nonresident Enrollment Using Technology

The Pennsbury School District has decided to use a data verification tool aimed at making sure taxpayer money is being spent exclusively on educating students who reside within its borders.

The school board approved a three-year agreement last week with data, analytics, and media company Thomson Reuters for its CLEAR residency verification software.

The contract carries a first-year cost of $40,840.80, with annual increases capped at 5 percent in the following years. The district maintains an opt-out clause after the first 12 months.

The software analyzes publicly available records to verify that enrolled students live in Falls Township, Lower Makefield Township, Yardley Borough, or Tullytown Borough.

According to Pennsylvania Department of Education data, Pennsbury spends just over $23,000 to educate a pupil each year.

Assistant Superintendent for Administration Kristopher Brown, who oversees the effort, said the program allows the district to have a clearer picture of its student population.

“Essentially, we will be able to scan public databases, meaning driver’s licenses, utility records, things that are publicly available, to help us make sure that the residents within the community are the ones that we are paying for school,” Brown said.

The CLEAR system is pitched by its parent company as looking at “relevant” public records and data points to figure out residency.

The district, which serves roughly 9,500 students, has had challenges verifying residency for pupils enrolled in cyber charter schools, where Pennsbury staff almost never interact with students face-to-face.

“For those who register and then attend a cyber charter school, we really don’t lay eyes on them,” Brown said. “This just helps make sure that students who reside in the district have our resources going to fund their education and not students who do not reside within the district.”

The program was recommended to the district by Chief Financial Officer Kimberly Steffy, who previously used the software in another school district.

School Board Member Donna Ahrens voiced support for the contract and called nonresident enrollment a challenge for the district.

“I think this has been a problem for decades at Pennsbury, identifying that every student that goes to Pennsbury lives in Pennsbury,” Ahrens said. “This may help us out with that a lot.”

Pennsbury has dealt with families attempting to skirt residency requirements over the years. It operates a confidential residency reporting tip line at residency@pennsburysd.org and 215-428-4100 ext. 84777.

The CLEAR agreement was part of a number of technology contracts approved during the meeting. The board voted to approve a three-year renewal of Google Workspace for Education Plus that is capped at $58,200, a one-year purchase of an advanced reporting feature for internet filtering that is not to exceed $26,208, and a renewal of wired and wireless network support products for $13,934.14.

In addition, the district announced it is introducing the Lightspeed Parent Portal. The new system will allow parents to monitor student screen time, view browsing history, and set usage controls outside school hours.

“Obviously, screen time and technology use is a big topic of conversation, not just in Pennsbury, but in many districts across the country,” Superintendent Dr. Thomas Smith said.