Recent articles in The Philadelphia Inquirer suggest that Governor Shapiro cut a deal with Republican leaders in the PA Senate to appoint members to the Charter Appeal Board (CAB) who will rule in favor of charter schools, suggesting these would be individuals with a political agenda to expand charter schools, regardless of the merit of the cases before the Board.  

Pennsylvania’s Charter Appeals Board plays a critical role in ensuring that schools comply with the law’s requirements and that individuals who propose charter schools do so as well.  

The CAB also also has sweeping powers to override the decision of locally elected school board members and force local taxpayers to pay tuition bills to charter schools that their community did not approve.

Reports of a backroom deal cut with Republicans who are focused on school privatization, whether accurate or inaccurate, threaten to undermine public faith that the Charter Appeals Board will act impartially when making decisions that will have an extraordinary financial impact on taxpayers in school districts throughout the commonwealth.

Tell Governor Shapiro NOT to stack the Charter Appeals Board with school privatizers, but instead to nominate a balanced slate of appointees who can be trusted to review cases impartially on the merits of each case.