A private investigator will check whether Central Bucks School District students live within district boundaries under a one-year contract the school board unanimously approved Aug. 27.

The deal with Acclaimed LLC pays Richboro-based investigator Jeff Cochran $70 per hour, plus mileage and other expenses, Central Bucks Now first reported. The contract carries no cap on hours or total spending.

No spending limit exists.

The contract's stated purpose is to investigate the residency of students enrolled in district schools. It also allows the district to request other, unspecified investigative services from Cochran.

The agreement passed as part of a group of finance items with no public discussion at the board's Aug. 27 meeting.

Chain of command

Only the superintendent or one of the district's two assistant superintendents may direct Cochran's work. If anyone else asks him to conduct an investigation, the contract requires him to refuse and report the request to the director of pupil services.

Cochran was personally selected by the district, according to the contract. No substitute investigator or other Acclaimed LLC employee may perform the work without prior written consent.

Monthly invoices must list dates worked, hours logged and which student was investigated.

What's not known

The district has not publicly explained what prompted the contract or how many students face scrutiny. No public statement from district leadership about the agreement's purpose appeared in board records as of Sept. 2.

Central Bucks serves about 16,665 students across Doylestown, Buckingham, New Britain and surrounding communities, making it Pennsylvania's third-largest district, according to the Bucks County Herald. Either party can end the agreement with 90 days' written notice.