Auditor General DePasquale Commends Vista School for Voluntarily Sharing Education Funding with Public Schools in 8 Counties
Schools received share of $210,461 in reimbursements for services to students with special needs
Auditor General DePasquale Commends Vista School for Voluntarily Sharing Education Funding with Public Schools in 8 Counties
Schools received share of $210,461 in reimbursements for services to students with special needs
HERSHEY, Pa. (Aug. 9, 2018) – Auditor General Eugene DePasquale today commended The Vista School leadership for voluntarily sharing more than $210,000 in education funding with schools in eight counties.
“In my work as auditor general I am focused on ensuring that every available dollar of school funding gets into classrooms across the state to help students learn,” DePasquale said.
“I commend The Vista School staff for their hard work pursuing federal funding earmarked to help students with special needs. That hard work paid off and The Vista School chose to share $210,461 with the 32 schools and one Intermediate Unit that sends students here.”
The funding comes from the School-Based Access Program (SBAP) — a Medicaid program that provides federal monies to school districts, intermediate units, and approved private schools to reimburse them for the costs of providing occupational therapy, speech therapy, nursing, and other services to students on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
Federal and state changes to the program between 2012 and 2015 resulted in some schools not receiving the federal reimbursements in a timely manner. The Vista School pursued the reimbursement in court and then chose to share approximately 80 percent of the settlement proceeds to off-set tuition increases districts paid for students attending The Vista School during the 2014-15 school year. Most districts received the reimbursement via tuition credit.
“It is important for schools to remember that federal funds are available to help cover these specialized services,” DePasquale said. “I want to ensure that the state is doing everything possible so that schools obtain the eligible dollars to help special education students and to ensure that school districts receive all the federal funds to which they are entitled.”
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Following a break-down by county of how the funds were distributed.
