Educators call for cyber charter funding reform

The superintendents at BVA and Yough are among those who signed a letter to state legislators.

By QUINCEY REESE
TribLive

Hundreds of Pennsylvania school district administrators are calling for cyber charter funding reform to be included in the state’s 2025-26 budget.

A letter featuring signatures from administrators at 215 schools was sent to state legislators Thursday — calling for a cyber charter funding formula that reflects the true cost of cyber education and increased transparency of how cyber charter schools use their tuition dollars.

Among the signees were superintendents from Western Pennsylvania schools — including Carlynton, Clairton City, Cornell, Deer Lakes, Duquesne City, East Allegheny, Northgate, Quaker Valley, Southmoreland, Derry Area, Jeannette City, Yough and Belle Vernon Area school districts.

Pennsylvania’s 500 public schools pay for students in their area to attend one of the state’s 14 public cyber charter schools. Annual tuition costs vary throughout the state, ranging from $7,600 per student to nearly $29,000 per student, according to the state Department of Education. The exact tuition cost is determined by a formula based on the school district’s budgeted expenses from the year prior.

School districts for years have lamented the burden that cyber charter tuition places on their already tight budgets. The letter calls the current cyber charter tuition formula unsustainable.

“As educational leaders who bear direct responsibility for the financial and academic well-being of our school communities, we firmly believe that cyber charter reform must be addressed in this year’s budget — not postponed again,” the letter says. “This reform is essential and non-negotiable.”

Gov. Josh Shapiro included cyber charter reform in his proposed 2025-26 budget plan released earlier this year, which would cap tuition at $8,000 per student per year. Special education cyber tuition could still exceed that rate.

The House introduced legislation in late April reaffirming Shapiro’s proposal, but the bill has remained in the Senate’s education committee since early June.

Though school district administrators have praised the proposal, cyber charter leaders have expressed concerns that an $8,000 per student tuition would not be sufficient to support their operation.

The state has surpassed the June 30 deadline to adopt a budget for this fiscal year by more than two months. State lawmakers have missed that deadline 14 of the past 22 years.