Support REAL cyber charter school funding reform to protect Pennsylvania taxpayers & save at least $250 million
To Governor Wolf and members of the PA General Assembly
Because of Pennsylvania's broken funding system for cyber charter schools, home and business owners in every corner of the commonwealth are paying higher school property taxes in order to fund expensive advertising campaigns for cyber charter schools, including billboards, radio and TV ads, mailers, and more. They are paying higher property taxes to fund shareholder profits for private cyber charter school management organizations, exorbitant salaries for their administrators, and, in the case of a high-profile fraud case, a personal airplane and vacation homes for a cyber charter CEO.
State lawmakers and Governor Wolf can end this wasteful spending by supporting REAL cyber charter school funding reform that, at a minimum, will match the tuition school districts pay to cyber charter schools with the actual cost of educating students at home on a computer.
Please sign and share this petition calling on Governor Wolf and your state lawmakers to support REAL cyber charter school funding reform that will save at least $250 million in taxpayer money each year. It is time for them to stand up to the special interests that are profiting off of our children.
Petition by
To:
To Governor Wolf and members of the PA General Assembly
From:
[Your Name]
We call on you to support cyber charter school funding reform that will, at a minimum, eliminate $250 million in wasteful spending by matching school district tuition payments to cyber charter schools with the actual cost of a cyber education.
Cyber charter schools have lower costs than either school districts or brick-and-mortar charter schools. They have a higher student to teacher ratio than district schools and frequently use recorded programs that can be re-used in many classes or for students individually. Infrastructure is greatly reduced. In spite of this different cost structure, they are paid the same as brick and mortar charter schools.
Under state law, school districts must spend $7,300-$48,000 per student each year for students to attend state-authorized, commercial cyber charter schools. However, school districts can provide a high-quality cyber education for just $5,000 or less per student.
As a result of this broken system, home and business owners in every corner of Pennsylvania are paying higher school property taxes in order to fund expensive advertising campaigns for cyber charter schools, including billboards, radio and TV ads, mailers, and more. They are paying higher property taxes to fund shareholder profits for private cyber charter school management organizations, exorbitant salaries for their administrators, and, in the case of a high-profile fraud case, a personal airplane and vacation homes for a cyber charter CEO.
If cyber charter schools provided a better education than district schools, an argument might be made that justified paying them a premium. Sadly, the opposite is true. Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools consistently rank among the lowest performing schools in the state and post abysmal graduation rates that range from just 31% to a high of 71%.
I most strongly urge you to stand up for Pennsylvania’s students and taxpayers and support REAL cyber charter school funding reform that will eliminate wasteful spending on excess cyber charter school tuition payments and save Pennsylvania taxpayers at least $250 million per year.