Some curious residents and school officials in Penn Hills want to know who was conducting a telephone survey last week targeting the Penn Hills School District, some board members and even a U.S. senator.

The surveys were conducted by an individual and not by computer.

Questions included whether the people called believed they were getting a fair return for their school tax dollars, how they rated the four school board members whose terms are up this year and if they thought U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum's residency dispute with the Penn Hills School District was politically motivated.

Those mentioned in the poll said they didn't know anything about it.

"Our office is not aware of a survey being conducted regarding the Penn Hills School District," said Christine Shott, Santorum's press secretary.

"It's not an authentic survey," said school board member Barry Patterson. His seat is one of the four up for election this year.

Another school board member even believes now that she got such a call last week.

Heather Hoolahan said her husband answered her home telephone last week and the person on the line asked for her.

When she got on the phone, the person began by telling her that he was conducting a survey and confirmed some information including her name.

Then, suddenly, the pollster said there was a miscommunication and hung up.

Hoolahan believes the man realized he was talking to the same Heather Hoolahan whose name would later come up in the part of the survey where each of the incumbent school board members -- Patterson, Erin Vecchio, Linda Schlegel and Hoolahan -- could be rated by the person being polled.

Theories abound about who may be behind the survey, but no one could pinpoint the source. Both Patterson and Hoolahan said they had to field numerous calls from residents who were curious about who was making the calls.

"Super voters," those who have voted regularly, in most elections, appeared to be targeted.

"Who's got the money to do this?" Vecchio wondered. She and Schlegel hadn't been aware of the survey until late in the week.

"We're certainly not conducting a survey," school district Superintendent Patricia Gennari said.

She had heard that some residents received the calls but couldn't speculate about the people behind it.

"I really just don't know," she said.

Most of those called who reported what they had been asked said the questions were negative about student achievement in the district and the role the four school board members had in running the district.

Those surveyed said the first question was whether the $8,000 per pupil the district spends was a good return on taxpayer money considering some low scores on state assessment tests and other measures.

The pollster also asked whether the person believed a new school board is needed and then asked the person to rate how each incumbent board member was doing, from excellent to poor.

Then the pollster asked whether they believed the challenges to Santorum's residency in Penn Hills were politically motivated. Santorum lives in Virginia with his family but owns a house and claims residency in Penn Hills. His children attended Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, and the Penn Hills School District paid the tuition until the children were withdrawn from the school.

"It's clearly slanted for political purposes," Patterson said, but exactly what those purposes would be is unclear. Patterson, Schlegel and Hoolahan are Republicans, as is Santorum, and Vecchio is a Democrat.

Hoolahan said the tone of the calls was unfair to the district and the people named.

"[This is] especially insulting considering all of the strides Penn Hills had made in the last two years," she said.