Feb 29, 2016 2 min read

We are disappointed that you did not do more research on public cyber charter schools before accepting Gov. Tom Wolf’s talking points at face value in your Feb. 16 editorial, “Restoring Fairness to Charter School funding.”

For starters, public cyber charter schools already receive 30 percent less funding per student, taking into account the building maintenance and transportation costs mentioned in the editorial. This has been a fact since these schools were introduced in Pennsylvania.

It’s also startling and sad to see you side with Wolf on cutting special education funding for these schools. Special-needs students at public cyber charter schools have the same needs as those who attend traditional public schools, therefore, they should have the same access to critical services to enhance their learning and increase their chances for success.

Here’s something Wolf wants you to ignore, and you did: public cyber charter school funding accounts for less than 1 percent of all public school funding in Pennsylvania. That’s a pretty stunning fact considering all the efforts aimed at cutting funding for these schools that serve as a lifeline to students who have been failed by their previous schools, have special needs, or are escaping violent schools.

What this is really about is killing school choice in Pennsylvania by blaming public cyber charter schools for rising taxes. The real cause of those tax increases are out-of-control construction spending by districts and exploding teacher pensions. Everyone agrees something needs to be done about public pension costs in Pennsylvania – except Wolf and the teachers’ unions that have filled his campaign coffers. They’d rather blame public cyber charter schools and hope papers like the Observer-Reporter don’t look at the facts.

Tillie Elvrum

Colorado Springs, Colo.

Elvrum is the president of PublicSchoolOptions.org and a former Pennsylvania cyber charter school parent.