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Board approves accounts payable amid dissent over cyber-charter payments
Summary
The board approved the accounts-payable list but several members registered no votes for cyber-charter school payments and used the meeting to highlight concerns about cyber-charter performance and state funding mechanics.
During the accounts-payable vote, several board members explained they would vote against line items that sent payments to cyber-charter schools while approving the rest of the bills. Board member Perrotta said he would not support the cyber-charter payments and cited performance statistics for Commonwealth Charter Academy, including a reported 64% graduation rate and low test proficiency figures. “We are approving $239,000 tonight to go to Commonwealth Charter Academy, which has a graduation rate of 64 percent, has an English proficiency rate of 11 percent, a math proficiency rate of 4.7%,” Perrotta said.
Another board member explained why a simple board-level withholding is not a practical remedy: withholding payment would prompt legal action or cause the state to recoup funds from the district. “If 5 of us vote no to not pay the cyber charter schools… the state would take it out of our state funding,” a member said, explaining the practical constraints around local control of those payments. The board approved the accounts payable list after discussion; several board members used their recorded votes and remarks to emphasize the problem and call for broader policy change at the state level.
Why it matters: cyber-charter tuition payments are a statewide policy issue that affects local district budgets and student outcomes. Members used the local vote to draw attention to performance metrics and to signal a desire for state-level reform while recognizing the legal and financial constraints on local action.
