Editorial: School funding, cyber charter oversight are state-created problems

Education is built on the basics.

ABCs become words, then sentences, then books. Counting becomes adding, then long division, then algebra. If you don’t get a good grounding at the primary level, everything gets harder until the learning process falls apart with the advanced material.

That might be the issue with school districts and cyber charter schools. They are facing off over money as well as accountability and test scores.

But this isn’t a fight they started. It’s a battleground the state controls.

The latest example is a lawsuit from four regional schools: Leechburg Area, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Indiana Area and Ligonier Valley. They want Commonwealth Charter Academy, the state’s largest cyber charter, to lose its charter. At the same time, they want to eliminate the tuition payments that accompany each student.

The claims aren’t great. The districts cite data showing less than 10% of CCA students test proficient in English and just half that in math. Despite its wide reach, CCA has been operating without a renewed charter since 2016. And the tuition payments from students’ home districts to cyber charters create a financial burden. CCA has a nice cushion that few districts can fall back on.

All of these raise real questions. They are concerns that have been brought up before, including in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s February budget speech and at various points amid education-related budget clashes at the local and state levels.

That doesn’t change the fact there is a place for cyber charters in Pennsylvania. There are families that may have different educational philosophies. Some kids with medical, behavioral or learning needs flourish with a more fluid schedule. There are districts or intermediate units that try to do this on their own terms, but it doesn’t always fit.

There are two problems for the state to address.

One is about who is overseeing cyber charters and how they are held to account. If we can maintain standards for hospitals, restaurants and 11 million registered cars in Pennsylvania, it should be possible to stay on top of minimum demands for cyber charters.

The other issue is the adequate funding for public education. If cyber schools are providing an education that meets state standards to state children, they should be state funded. School districts should not have to cannibalize their already-strapped cash to pay for district students to attend cyber schools.

At the same time, the state is decades beyond promised relief to taxpayers that would better provide for districts and students — and the courts have said so.

The annual budget battle always involves finding a way to slice the state’s educational pie into enough pieces. Despite that, there never seems to be a real effort to fix the funding formula.

This is not an issue that will be — or should be — solved by lawsuits. It must be addressed by state leaders, both legislative and executive.

School districts and cyber charters do not need to be enemies. They should be focused on the same goal: educating students.

But it seems like the state needs a remedial course in getting things done.