A new report shows Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools amassing a large stockpile of assets. The Education Voters of PA report shows that the four largest cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania in 2018 had net assets and fund balances totaling $566,858; in 2022, that total had grown to $486 million. Cyber charter schools, like brick and mortar charter schools, are privately owned and operated, but taxpayer-funded, schools that provide online education. Despite the online nature, the cost per pupil in cyber schools is tied to the cost per pupil of the student’s public school. One cyber charter, Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA), has spent a total of $88.7 million for 35 locations that it now owns, according to the report. Though the real estate is purchased with taxpayer dollars that the school collects, nothing in Pennsylvania law indicates that CCA would be required to return those funds to the taxpayers if they sold the properties. Once the holdings are purchased by CCA, many go off the local tax rolls, making a loss of income for local school districts. Read more here.
Source: Forbes; 5/20/2024