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Board presses Harrisburg for school-funding fixes, cites cyber-charter costs
Summary
Board members reiterated that Pennsylvania's school funding system remains unconstitutional, urged lawmakers to act, and detailed district cyber-charter tuition costs and projected savings from proposed reforms.
At the Oct. 28 meeting a board member emphasized the ongoing state-level funding shortfall and urged Pennsylvania legislators to implement the Commonwealth Court’s Feb. 7, 2023 ruling declaring the state’s school funding system unconstitutional.
"There is no valid reason for state lawmakers to delay action any longer on this critical issue," the board member said, urging bipartisan compliance with the court’s order and describing the local consequences of delayed action.
The board discussed the district’s current and potential cyber-charter costs. The transcript lists the district’s cyber charter tuition at $13,903.94 per student and $26,793.52 per special education student; neighboring districts were cited at roughly $43,000 per special education student and another district at over $60,000. The speaker said a proposed reform that would set cyber-charter funding at $7,000 per student could provide approximately $700,000 in relief to the district.
The board framed cyber-charter reform as both a funding and equity issue: members said the proposed governor’s budget would help the district (the speaker noted a projected $723,500 increase under the proposed budget) but urged Harrisburg to enact structural changes rather than delay.
No formal board action on state policy was taken at the meeting; the remarks were part of the superintendent/board updates and broader advocacy for a state budget that complies with the court ruling.
