Big changes in public education
This week commences the most unusual school year in the Pottstown School Districts 182-year history: For the first time, education is being delivered remotely to students in their homes instead of physical school buildings. Ever since 1834, Pennsylvania children and youth have had the right to attend free public schools based on where they live. (Pottstown set up its first schools in 1838). Therefore, to attend Pottstown public schools, you only need to prove residency, even if you just moved in last week. Meanwhile, parents have always had the option to send their children to private schools, which dont have a fixed attendance area and can be selective in enrollment. But they charge tuition. A big change in public education began in 1997, when Pennsylvania legalized private non-profit charter schools, which can be located anywhere in Pennsylvania. Each students tuition is charged to the school district where the student lives. Tuition is not based on the charter schools actual costs, but on how much the local public school district spends per pupil on its own students. A second big change came in 2002, when cyber charter schools were authorized. Cybers provide virtual education over the internet using laptops. With no physical school, a students education is entirely disconnected from where he or she lives. But the school district where the student resides still pays the tuition, which is exactly the same amount as a bricks and mortar charter school. And while public schools are weighed down by an elaborate framework of rules and regulations, charters have no local oversight and very little from the state. Statewide, about 8.5 percent of Pennsylvanias 1.7 million students attend charter schools, including 35,000 cyber charter students. But less than 5 percent of Pottstown students attend charters, either bricks and mortar schools, like Phoenixvilles Renaissance Academy, or one of Pennsylvanias 15 cyber charter schools. That may change with the pandemic, now that many school districts are only offering virtual education. Pottstown operates its own inhouse cyber school, and it will be interesting to see how many families sign up. Last week, the Pottstown School Board asked the administration to update the figures in the chart, below, in September. There are scores of bills in the legislature to address the inequities of charter schools. One, by our own Rep. Joe Ciresi, would allow school districts to refuse to pay tuition for any charter school outside its attendance area. Another, offered by an Erie legislator, would require families to pay the full cost of a cyber charter school if their home district offers a cyber program equal in scope and content. Perhaps one of them will pass.