Lawmakers Press PDE on Cyber-charter Finances and Proposed $8,000 Reimbursement Cap

Lawmakers on the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee pressed the Pennsylvania Department of Education on Feb. 24 about a proposed $8,000 cap on cyber-charter reimbursements and findings in a recent Auditor General audit of five cyber-charter schools.

Committee members said the scale of revenue growth and reserves at several large cyber charters raises questions about oversight and whether state funding is delivering instructional value. Representative Schweier cited the Auditor General's cover letter and summarized that the audit found “potential for wasteful and or discretionary spending of taxpayer dollars that could go beyond the legislative intent of the charter school law.”

That audit, discussed during the hearing, reviewed Commonwealth Charter Academy, Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, Insight PA, PA Cyber, and Reach Cyber. Committee members quoted audit findings that the five cyber schools' combined revenue rose by about $425 million (about a 90% increase in the audited period) and that…