Ohio district offers reward for tips on nonresident students

AKRON, Ohio—A northeast Ohio school system is offering $100 rewards for tips to identify students who live outside the district, and it seems to be working.

So far, four people have collected rewards, and Julie Schafer, a school board member in the Copley-Fairlawn district, in suburban Akron. Others have provided tips but turned down the financial incentive since the deal began in September.

The crackdown was prompted by bus drivers who saw students getting off in front of vacant buildings or parents in cars dropping off students at bus stops.

The district believes taxpayers should not have to support students who should be attending other schools, Assistant Superintendent Brian Poe said.

Officials suspected 100 of its 3,500 students live outside the district. Since September, 45 such students have left and six others stayed and paid the annual nonresident tuition of $7,614.

The district attracts nonresident students because of its "excellent" rating from the state based on proficiency test scores and other factors, Poe said.

The northeast Ohio district includes Fairlawn, Copley Township and small parts of Akron and Bath Township.

Out-of-district students aren't just a problem for the districts they attend, said Scott Ebright of the Ohio School Boards Association. The student's real district misses out on state money that is calculated in part by attendance numbers.

------

On the Net:

http://www.copley.summit.k12.oh.us