(The Center Square) – Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget address was optimistic about the prospects of the state’s divided legislature coming together for another year, citing last year’s reimagining of public school funding as supporting evidence.
Education remains one of the highest ticket items in this year’s budget. Notably absent from the proposal, however, is the number one educational priority for Pennsylvania Republicans – school choice.
The issue has been a sticking point in the legislature for years and has gained significant bipartisan support as parents lose patience with the commonwealth’s struggling public schools.
Proponents say it’s only fair to offer parents alternatives when schools aren’t performing adequately, while opponents say that school spending should go toward achieving adequacy rather than subsidizing private education.
House Minority Leader Jesse Topper, R-Bedford, said the state needs “to ensure that each and every child has access to a high quality education, even if public school is not the right option for them.”
According to the Commonwealth Foundation, the state has seen a 7.7% drop in public school enrollment over the past 25 years, while private schools have seen a 24% decline. Meanwhile, homeschooling has risen by nearly 75%. Within the public school framework, charter and vo-tech options have seen increases, showing the appetite for alternatives to traditional models.
To make the public school system viable, “We need to do more in terms of transformational change in our education system other than just spending more money,” said Topper who says he’s seen education spending increase each of his ten years in office to no great effect.
Republicans stress the need to target spending toward programs that are tried and true. Structured literacy, which teaches the science of reading and is at different stages of implementation across the state, is one example with demonstrable effectiveness.
No matter how basic education funding is targeted and whether it receives an increase, the state has a legal mandate to address the $4.5 billion adequacy gap created by decades of inequitable funding which left schools in low-income areas lagging behind. The legislature will need to find those funds regardless of whether school choice receives an investment.
Shapiro himself included school choice in his campaign for governor. He ultimately vetoed it from the state’s 2022-2023 budget, laying the groundwork for mistrust and contentious fighting between his office and Republicans in the legislature.
The proposed budget does address charter schools, specifically in terms of tuition reform. It would set a statewide tuition rate of $8,000 per student per year for cyber charter schools.
Currently, tuition for charters comes from the student’s home district. Tuition rates are based on the district’s costs per student. For cyber charters, transportation costs are subtracted from that number. The governor says his plan would save districts $378 million annually.
The proposed reform comes on the heels of a report from public school advocacy group Education Voters PA which scrutinized spending at the state’s largest charter school, Commonwealth Charter Academy, or CCA. Critics point to entertainment, luxury, and marketing expenses and demand more transparency from charter schools, which are privately run.
The report has been removed from the organization’s website after objections from CCA about inaccuracies.
According to the CCA’s website, it has been designated a Comprehensive Support and Improvement School by the state after testing in the bottom 5% of schools. Its 68% graduation rate is far below the state’s 96% average.
But it’s not the first time in recent memory that legislative Demcorats have supported a tuition cap. In July, the House approved a bill that would do the same Shapiro’s proposal.
Dr. Anne Clark, CEO of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Public Charter Schools, scoffed at the provision as misleading and unnecessary.
“Contrary to the blanket assertion that cyber charter schools operate at lower costs, these schools face unique and often higher expenses,” she said. “Faculty salaries remain comparable to traditional schools, but cyber charters incur significant costs for technical infrastructure, cybersecurity, and individualized student support services.”
That cap would save schools a collective $530 million, which, according to the bill’s fiscal note, represents about 49% of districts’ reported tuition costs.
Tuition for online charters fluctuates between $9,000 and $23,000 per student. In 2023, 179 charter schools, 14 of which are exclusively online, served 164,000 students.
Clark said the proposal ignores the financial realities of running cyber charter schools, which are often respite for vulnerable students with medical conditions, special learning needs or bullying trauma.
Christen Smith contributed to this report.
