Andrew J. Lewis: Political hit job on cyber charter schools

Forget better schools. Apparently, Pennsylvania students need fewer schools, even if that means hurting the kids who need the most help.

That’s effectively the message that two of our state’s leaders have sent in the past few weeks. First, Gov. Josh Shapiro demanded cutting funding for cyber charter schools by more than 40% per student. Second, state Auditor General Timothy DeFoor issued a misleading report that’s fueling assaults on cyber charters for supposedly wasting taxpayer money.

The simple truth is that the governor and his allies are trying to kill schools that teacher unions leaders don’t like — which is to say, anything but traditional public schools. Yet traditional public schools are failing most students, with 69% of 8th graders not proficient in math or reading. Cyber charters — which are usually non-unionized public schools — give families a chance to escape failing schools. No wonder about 60,000 students and counting have enrolled in them.

Cyber charters give these kids a chance to learn in a different environment — one that may be much better suited to their learning style. Many students also faced bullying or abuse at their local public school, and the cyber charter was their only other option, especially in rural areas. And half of cyber students are low-income, with some schools serving a 95% low-income student body. Cyber charters are the only school-choice option their families have.

Neither Shapiro nor DeFoor seem to care. Instead, they make it seem like cyber charters aren’t good stewards of taxpayer money. But cyber charters already get much less per student than traditional public schools — $14,000 on average, compared to $22,000 in the typical public school district. Now the governor wants to make this disparity wider by capping cyber charter funding at $8,000 per student.

This is an attack on vulnerable kids. If cyber charter funding is cut even further, many schools will be forced to close, while others will be forced to cut back. In other words, they’ll provide a worse education, or no education at all. How does that benefit struggling students? Especially if they’re forced back into a failing school?

According to the auditor general, the problem is that cyber charters are socking away money in their reserve funds, instead of spending it directly on students. He looked at five cyber charters that increased now have reserve funding of about $619 million. But that attack doesn’t hold up under scrutiny, either.

When cyber charters put money in reserve funds, they’re trying to protect themselves and their students from future funding cuts. In other words, they’re preparing for the exact political attacks that Shapiro and his allies are launching right now. They’re also dealing with the reality that school districts often don’t give cyber charters the funding they’re owed under state law. That’s illegal, and in addition to appealing to the state, cyber charters are trying to insulate themselves from selfish districts.

Besides, if there’s a problem with reserve funds, then traditional public schools should be under the microscope. They hold a combined $6.8 billion in reserve funds. More than half of the state’s 500 school districts have reserve funds that exceed more than 20% of their spending. Where is the political outrage over that?

The bigger question is why cyber charters are being held to a double standard, and not just on reserve funds. Why should cyber charters have their funding capped, but not traditional public schools that so often fail students? Why are cyber charters criticized for spending money on lobbying, when traditional public schools spend far more? Instead of just auditing cyber charters, we should audit every public school in Pennsylvania. They’re failing so many students while getting far more taxpayer money. Surely, it’s time to put the microscope where it belongs — on the public schools that kids are trying to escape.

These blatant double standards show what this is really about: Killing schools that teachers unions don’t like. But the agenda that Shapiro and his allies are pushing won’t help students who desperately need help, which cyber charters are already providing. Pennsylvania families need more and better schooling options — not fewer and worse.

Andrew J. Lewis is president and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation.