Pennsylvania’s auditor general is calling for major reform to how cyber charter schools are funded in Pennsylvania.
Timothy DeFoor yesterday released a performance audit of Commonwealth Charter Academy, Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, Insight PA Cyber Charter, Pennsylvania Cyber Charter and Reach Cyber Charter school. The study showed that from 2020 to 2023, revenues legally increased by $425 million and reserves by 144%. He also said that there were instances where the cyber charter schools legally used taxpayer dollars to fund staff bonuses, gift cards, vehicle payments, fuel stipends and in one school’s case, the purchase or renovation of 21 buildings.
Defoor recommends that over the next six months, Governor Josh Shapiro should appoint a task force to review the funding formula for cyber charter schools, and to issue a report on a new formula that would be equitable and reasonable nine months after the task force is formed. He also says the general assembly should act on the information in that report six months after the facts are released to enact legislation. He said that “the most important thing we can do is to provide our children with a quality education and as leaders we need to set our personal agendas aside and fix how we fund education in this state.”
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