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HARRISBURG – A bill making its way through the Pennsylvania Legislature would cap the amount of money public school districts send to cyber charters and require those schools to be more transparent about their inner workings.
Technological change and a global pandemic drove students to these K-12 institutions, completely online and independently.
But state regulations governing those schools, last updated 20 years ago, didn’t anticipate the rapid growth of cyber charters — there are 14 that educate more than 60,000 students — or the amount of money public school districts would end up paying in enrollment costs. .
The guidelines also lack basic accountability measures, such as a requirement for public meetings or robust financial disclosures, which critics say leaves the public in the dark about how taxpayer dollars are spent.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers agree the rules need to be updated, but say they are far from a consensus. Supporters of the cyber charter and key GOP lawmakers say the flat rate for tuition isn’t enough and that the state should invest in alternatives to public schools, not put additional restrictions on them.
“Cyber charter schools are only open because parents want options for their children, and that’s a much higher standard of accountability than anything traditional public schools face today,” said Matthew Brouillette, a political operative linked to groups that have led millions of people in politics. spending on candidates who support school choice. “Traditional public schools are failing all around us and getting more money, not more accountability.”
The bill it passed the state House with some bipartisan support: 20 Republicans joined 102 Democrats in voting yes. But the lawmaker who chairs the state Senate committee through which the bill must pass has not pledged to move it.
State Sen. David Argall (R., Schuylkill) said he would first support a bill that makes fewer changes and is less controversial. He did not suggest any specific policies when asked.
“We’re not going to agree on 100 percent of any legislation,” Argall said. “If we agree on 10% to 15%, I’d like to pass it and talk about the other 85%.”
A billion dollar price tag
Online tuition is paid for by the enrolled child’s public school district and can be expensive—districts send almost 1 billion dollars to cyber charters in the 2020-21 school year, according to Research for Action, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that studies education policy.
Public school districts receive money from the state, but their budgets are overwhelmingly funded by local property taxes. A Pennsylvania court recently ruled that this system is unconstitutional and inequitable.
Only three other states fund cyber charter schools directly through district payments. About 20 more appropriate money for e-charters from state budgets, and the rest use a combination of funds.
The state House bill would significantly change the funding scheme. While the money would still come from public school districts, the measure would set a state fee of $8,000 per non-special education student. The rate would increase every three years “based on the average rate that school districts raised property taxes,” according to a prosecutor. analysis prepared for the State House.
The current rate formula varies based on how much public schools spend on their students and the number of students in a public district who choose to attend a cyber charter daily.
More than 90% of Pennsylvania school districts signed on resolution this year asking the General Assembly to change the funding system for e-cards.
“These payments are calculated in a way that requires districts to send more money to charter schools than is necessary to operate their programs and places a significant financial burden on district resources and taxpayers,” the resolution said.
State Rep. Jesse Topper (R., Fulton), minority chairman of the House Education Committee, said he supports changing the cyber charter regulations but opposes the flat rate across the board. state
He said there are public schools in his legislative district that pay less than $8,000 per student in cyber charter fees, meaning the legislation would drive up their costs.
Topper said he is open to moving away from a system where public schools are solely responsible for cyber enrollment. One possible solution, he said, could involve the state adopting some financial responsibility to eliminate the “toxic nature of the relationship” between public and cyber charter schools.
The state House bill would also substantially change tuition rates for special education students, a particular pain point for public schools that say they must send more money than is actually used to educate the kids.
While special education for public school districts is funded based on the actual costs of services for students with disabilities, cybercharters are funded at the same tuition per special education student, regardless of need.
Lack of transparency
Public school districts operate under Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Law. Boards must hold public meetings and get input on topics such as budgets and curricula before making decisions.
Board members are elected officers who serve four-year terms. They make public declarations of financial interest and receive no compensation for their work.
School boards must also adhere to the state Law of ethics and follow certain guidelines if you do business with a board member’s family member.
On the other hand, cyber charter schools are not required to hold open meetings or receive input on their budget. while they report certain statistics to the state Department of Education each year, the financial information disclosed by the cyber letters is limited.
Under the state House bill, a cyber board’s operations would be subject to the Sunshine Act, and budgets would have to be made public at least 20 days before adoption. The public could see five years of annual budgets, tax returns, certified audits and annual reports.
The bill would also classify people on those boards as public officials, subjecting them to state ethics rules and financial disclosure forms. Boards should include at least seven unrelated voting members, including a parent of a student enrolled in the cyber charter. Board members would not be paid except for “reasonable expenses.”
“These cyber charter schools have boards, and you don’t really know if people are there [on the boards] they’re benefiting financially from the decisions they’re making,” said Susan Spicka, executive director of Education Voters of PA, a public school advocacy group. “The temptation without accountability can be too much for some people, there so much extra money for people to misuse.”
The bill would also subject agencies that enter into contracts with cyber letters, including financial management firms, to the Right to Know Act.
Unlike public schools, many of which have their own business offices, cyber charters hire financial management companies. These companies manage millions of dollars in taxpayer funding, but their books cannot be reviewed by state officials or the public because they are private organizations.
Former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, a Democrat, found that one such company was “operating without limits or liability” and that it was not clear what services he had provided. Meanwhile, the company had been handing out pay raises to executives.
While debating the bill in the state House, Rep. Torren Ecker (R., Adams) said the right-to-know requirement is too broad — it would include companies hired for construction projects, for example.
The bill would also place new restrictions on cybermailers’ ability to advertise, a significant change since some of these schools routinely use a portion of their budgets for self-promotion.
Right to know requests presented by Education Voters of PA show that Pennsylvania’s 14 cyber charters collectively spent $16.8 million on advertising in the 2021-22 school year. Harrisburg-based Commonwealth Charter Academy spent the most: more than $8 million.
The group also found that King of Prussia-based PA Virtual Charter spent more than $28,000 sponsoring minor league baseball teams and more than $130,000 on bus wraps and other traffic ads.
Brouillette, the proponent of the cyber letter, said such announcements are necessary.
“Charter schools only survive if they attract students, and advertising is one way to inform them of that option,” Brouillette said.
Under the bill, all paid media outlets for cyber charter schools would have to disclose that the ads were paid for using taxpayer money. Cyber charters would also be prohibited from sponsoring public events.
DaniRae Renno is an intern at the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents Association. More information about the program. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to responsible journalism that gets results.
