U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., may have been the most famous Pennsylvanian to have residency conflicts with his local school district. But Penn Hills school board members say he's not the only one, and Penn Hills isn't the only school district with questions.

So last week, the board passed a resolution that state Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Penn Hills, will carry to Harrisburg. If adopted by the state Department of Education, it asks that the Pennsylvania School Code be updated to "provide a clearer definition of residency for all school districts in the commonwealth."

"It's very confusing," DeLuca said of the current statute.

He added that he's already talked with other legislators, at least one of whom cited another case where a school district was paying cyber charter school tuition for child who lived outside the country.

DeLuca said the Department of Education will be asked to revise regulations this year and deal with residents who temporarily work outside the state. Right now he said definitions are "pretty loose" and open to interpretation.

Penn Hills School District challenged Santorum's Penn Hills residency claim after it was discovered that the district approved about $100,000 in state reimbursement funds to Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, based in Midland, Beaver County, even though the family now lives in Virginia. Also questioned was whether Santorum, who has six children, ever really lived in the two-bedroom, Penn Hills house he bought in 1997.

Penn Hills school officials haven't heard from state Department of Education about their challenge. But school board member Linda Schlegel, who sponsored the resolution, said the measure and resulting changes would help other school districts deal with questions, she said.

"It addresses the need for a clear definition of residency," she said...

By Judy Laurinatis, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Jan 19, 2005

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