PA cyber-charter schools see cuts in state budget; public school districts to save $175M

The new Pennsylvania state budget includes a $900 million increase in education spending, but cyber charter schools will face significant cuts.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said that funds will be redirected from cyber charters to traditional school districts, affecting approximately 60,000 cyber charter students statewide.

Lawmakers estimate these cuts will save about $175 million for school districts. Shapiro described the move as funds being “clawed back” for public schools in a one-on-one interview with 6News on Thursday, and said it won’t compromise cyber charter education quality.

“The amount of money that those school districts have been forced to pay out to the cyber charter schools has been dramatically inflated,” Shapiro said. “What we did was we clawed back some of that money, $175 million has been clawed back and will go back to the public schools across Pennsylvania and not compromise the quality of education in a cyber charter school.”

Shapiro also said he does not want to take away a parent’s ability to choose to send their child to a cyber charter school. However, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Public Cyber Charter Schools Marcus Hite questions that.

Hite said that the cuts could lead to staff reductions at cyber charters and potential closures of smaller cyber schools.

“Now you have families who have left the public bricks and mortar, they’ve found an environment that works for them, and frankly the rug is going to be pulled from underneath them,” Hite said.

He expressed that adding more money to public brick and mortar schools does not equal a better education for students across the commonwealth.

“Yeah, obviously it’s frustrating that they think they have to take money from us, from the cybers, when what the cybers are doing is trying to be partners,” Hite said.