Aug 22, 2016 2 min read

We’ve been skeptical about cyber charter schools because, for all the imperfections of brick-and-mortar classrooms, they still offer better opportunities for socialization, interaction and intellectual growth than having a student sit in front of a screen all day tapping a keyboard and clicking a mouse.

The fact that many cyber charters have been a drain on finances of school districts, are not as accountable as their brick-and-mortar counterparts and tend to have worse academic outcomes only deepens our skepticism.

However, a story in Sunday’s Observer-Reporter outlined how local districts were creating their own in-house online programs in order to cut costs and increase accountability. Washington High School has teamed up with the Avella and Western Beaver school districts for an online program that has yielded considerable savings for Washington School District. According to Superintendent Roberta DiLorenzo, the district has to pay almost $11,000 tuition for a student attending a cyber charter school, while it only has to pay $1,000 when that student is enrolled in the in-house program. The overall savings since 2012 was $1.4 million. Principal Paul Kostelnik told our David Singer the district was able to improve its media and fabrication labs and hire a career counselor as a result of the money that has been freed up.

The way cyber charter schools are funded in the commonwealth and the quality of the education they offer needs to be examined and improved. But, in the meantime, districts offering their own online programs is an astute means to provide this option and save taxpayer dollars at the same time.