Help Stop Excessive Diversions of Public School Dollars to CyberCharters and other Charter Schools
This is an email being distributed by some public school activists in eastern PA.
Dear Parents, Friends, and Neighbors,
During this time of budget challenges, we need ideas that are good for taxpayers and also good for our children, their education, and our collective future. There is evidence to suggest that taxpayers are overpaying for the cost of cyber-charter schools and as a result syphoning off precious educational resources. Cyber-charters receive as much money from local districts and taxpayers as bricks-and-mortar charters, yet the cost of educating students at cyber charters is considerably less! During this financial crunch, it's time to take a hard look at how cyber-charter schools are being funded and what they are doing with the taxpayer funds they receive. As it turns out, reforming the funding structure for cyber charters could save Lehigh Valley schools more than $7million -- WITHOUT a local or state tax increase and without impacting school choice for students and parents!
THE CONCERN:
How is it that cyber-charter schools have the funds to underwrite NPR, advertise at the local Iron Pigs baseball stadium, or on roadside billboards? The chairman of one of the largest cyber-charter schools receives a taxpayer-funded annual salary of several million dollars a year. Certainly a traditional public school with enough funding to be able to afford this kind of advertising and compensation for administrators would attract significant taxpayer outrage!
Taxpayers are OVERPAYING for the cost of cyber-charter schools and students are not receiving a quality education in these schools. Reform and oversight of cyber-charter schools is needed to ensure that students are provided with a thorough education at a reasonable cost to taxpayers. Currently, neither of those conditions is being met. With reform, Lehigh Valley schools could realize more than $7 million in savings--without a local or state tax increase.
How does the funding work?
Cyber charter schools receive the average instructional cost of educating a student at the school district in which the student lives. For example, a student who lives in Parkland School District who decides to attend a cyber charter school, Parkland is required by law to send a payment of $8,884 to that cyber-charter school. However, the cost of educating a student online is considerably cheaper than it is in a bricks-and-mortar school.
How do we know it's cheaper? Several Lehigh Valley school districts operate their own cyber academies (East Penn, for example) and are able to provide this educational service at a cost of $4,200 per student -- less than half of what the state mandates school districts pay cyber-charter schools. Reform that includes reimbursing the cyber-charter schools at the same cost of what it takes for school districts to provide this service would save Lehigh Valley area schools millions of dollars!
What is the educational quality in cyber-charter schools?
The Center for Research on Educational Outcomes (CREDO), an independent, pro-charter school research organization at Stanford University, concluded that 100% of cyber-charter schools in Pennsylvania perform significantly worse than their traditional public school counterparts in both math and reading (yes, even struggling, urban school districts do better than the cyber-charter schools).
A Win-Win Reform!
Cyber-charter reform would mean that local school districts could have additional educational resources available WITHOUT an increase in state or local taxes! We realize that for some students and parents, cyber schools are an important educational choice. Fortunately, funding and oversight reform of cyber charters does not limit school choice for parents. Reform only brings fairness to the system and oversight that will help to ensure that students are receiving a quality education in these schools.
What you can do?
Attached is an "issue paper" containing additional details regarding potential savings. It expressly indicates savings of more than $7 million to a sample of Lehigh Valley area school districts (this value does not even include Easton or Bethlehem schools). Concerned about this issue? Help to inform your friends, neighbors and community members who may also be interested. Forward this email and contact your legislator! Attached is a sample letter. Here's a link so you can find your legislator's contact info:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/index.cfm?CFID=126408626&CFTOKEN=50278335.
A change in legislation would benefit local school districts, taxpayers, and does not limit school choice for parents and students. A win-win for all!
