LETTER: Legislature needs to properly fund schools
A new proposal by Gov. Josh Shapiro to provide vouchers to the lowest 15% of performing public schools in Pennsylvania in exchange for a larger increase in subsidies to the state’s public schools has failed to pass both houses of the Legislature. Therefore, the governor decided to drop the voucher plan in order to get a budget passed for the 2023-24 school year. It would have been a win for both sides that will most likely resurface at a later time.
I question giving these students the proposed $100 million vouchers will result in any significant changes. What was once there will now be here, in the private school. Those 15% of lower-achieving schools are also most likely the poorest districts. Why not just give more money to those schools so that every student gains and not just the few who will move on to a private school.
A recent court case in Pennsylvania stated that lower-income and disadvantaged area areas such as Fayette County, with a much lower tax base than most of the state, are entitled to a significant increase in state subsidies than the wealthier districts with a much higher tax base.
Our public schools are also getting killed by having to support cyber charter schools. They operate on a budget about 25% less than public schools, but get the same reimbursement per student. Much of their money is wasted on advertising; $3.4 million in the first three months of 2022, to cite one example. Another waste of money was spending $150,000 on MLB tickets.
There were approximately 163,000 students in cyber charter and brick-and-mortar charter schools in the 2021-2022 school year. They average 20% lower on test scores than traditional public school districts. They also graduate 52% of their students, as opposed to 87% in Pennsylvania public schools. Yet they receive the same money per student as they do in local school districts, and it’s paid from local school district budgets.
A change is obviously needed to the cyber charter system. Our local districts cannot afford to pay multimillions of dollars to support these cyber charter schools without proper funding from our state elected officials.
Don’t complain to your local school board members who have to continually raise taxes. Our state legislators need to do the right thing and properly fund our schools and not use the education of our youth as a political football.
Bob Renzi
Connellsville
Bob Renzi is a member of the Connellsville Area School Board.