Let’s be honest about public charter school funding

Education reform is certainly needed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but doing so at the expense of public charter schools will only force thousands of children to return to traditional public schools that their families fled seeking better educational outcomes.

While Gov. Tom Wolf is focused on instituting significant cuts that will adversely affect public charter schools, anti-charter school voices are empowered to spread untruths and blame public charter schools for their inability to manage the tax dollars allocated to them.

The truth about funding is that charter schools receive only a portion of the per-pupil allocation given by state government. School districts on average keep 25% of every charter student’s allocation. This leaves brick-and-mortar charters like Propel fewer dollars to complete its mission of providing high-quality education to a largely underserved student population.

Propel is a public charter school system serving more than 4,000 students in 13 brick and mortar schools located in eight districts.

Adding to the shower of misinformation is the debate about special education funding. State education funds cover only a portion of a traditional district’s special education expenditures.

While traditional districts have the ability to utilize local tax money to fill the gap, charter schools have no other public funding method available.

At the same time, charter schools receive minimal reimbursements for facilities. Instead of looking at funding formulas in individual strands like special education, all parts need to be reviewed for fairness and equity.

Let’s have an open and honest conversation about improving the delivery of education so that all Pennsylvania families have access to quality public education options that are not dictated by their ZIP code.