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Commissioner Schneider urges state review of cyber charter funding as governor announces school investment
Summary
Commissioner Schneider used the commissioners meeting to call on Governor Shapiro and state legislators to review cyber charter school funding formulas after the governor announced a large K-12 funding package.
At the Clinton County Board of Commissioners meeting on May 22, Commissioner Schneider urged Governor Shapiro and state legislators to review funding formulas for cyber charter schools following the governor's recent announcement of a $2 billion investment in K-12 education.
"I'd like to ask the governor [and] legislators that before they increase the tax burden on the residents of the Commonwealth that they look into the request of Auditor General Tim Dufour," Commissioner Schneider said. Schneider said the Auditor General has requested a review of an "outdated formula for cyber charter schools" that, the commissioner said, allows cyber charters to increase revenues because tuition formulas do not account for actual costs, lack spending guidelines, and set no limits on reserve funds.
Schneider said there are "over a thousand different funding formulas for cyber charter schools" and suggested that reviewing those formulas could redirect millions of dollars back to traditional public schools, potentially lessening local tax burdens. "Now, I'm all for school choice, but instead of increasing taxes, which is always the easiest road to take, let's please, governor and legislators, look at this funding formula and redirect dollars back to the public schools, that they come from to lessen this tax burden," Schneider said.
Chairman James A. Russo and Commissioner Angela Harding verbally acknowledged Schneider's remarks; no formal motion or vote on the topic was recorded in the meeting minutes.
