PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A state government audit of five Pennsylvania cyber charter schools has led the auditor General to declare the same thing as his two predecessors: Pennsylvania’s dated funding formula for cyber charter schools must change.
First it was Jack Wagner, then Eugene DePasquale. Now Timothy DeFoor.
“The fact that I am the third consecutive auditor general in 15 years to address the same problem—that’s frustrating.”
DeFoor spoke from Harrisburg after his office released its findings in the audit of Commonwealth Charter Academy, Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, Insight PA Cyber Charter School, Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, and Reach Cyber Charter School.
“We looked how these five cyber charter schools were making money, spending it, and how much of your tax dollars they were keeping in the bank.”
The way cyber charter schools are funded now is the same way they were funded when they first came to Pennsylvania in 2002. They’re funded by the school districts where their pupils live. Whatever the district’s cost per student, that’s the tuition rate the cyber charter gets for that student.
Unlike brick-and-mortar schools, cyber charters pull students from districts all across the state, and rates vary widely from district to district.
“It’s the funding formula that is the root of this problem. That hasn’t changed,” DeFoor said.
“The cyber charter funding formula needs to change to reflect what is actually being spent to educate students.”
The audit found that, during the pandemic, the five cyber charters increased their enrollment by 60% and increased revenues by over $400 million.
“Reserves are meant to cover unanticipated bills so there’s no interruption in a child’s education. It isn’t meant to sit in a bank of a cyber charter school, growing year after year,” DeFoor said.
“We get concerned whenever revenues and fund balances significantly increase because it opens the door for questionable and discretionary spending of our tax dollars”—like the staff bonuses, gift cards, vehicle payments and fuel stipends that his office found.
Some Republicans look at it as an important defense of school choice in Pennsylvania. DeFoor, a fellow Republican, said school choice has nothing to do with changing the funding formula.
“It has to do about a fair and comprehensive and equitable funding formula that’s going to work not only for public schools, but it’s also going to work for charter schools and cyber charter schools.”
DeFoor’s office offered recommendations to the governor, legislature and other education leaders on how to begin discussions on changing the funding formula.