If you follow our journey on social media, you know that it has not been easy to find the right school for Sienna’s education. We have lived a thousand lives since kindergarten. I have learned so much about our broken system, and through these lived experiences I have gained first hand knowledge. I feel a responsibility to share it, in hopes that you will do the same. If more people realize how much inequity lives and breathes in our system we can all voice our concerns and demand our political leaders implement change. I’d really appreciate it if you took the time to read and understand this, especially if you are a Pennsylvania resident. This information is based on my research and our lived experience.
Let’s talk about charter schools. Exactly one year ago, I woke up every summer morning and signed onto the wait list website for a local Charter School. The month leading up to Sienna’s first day of school had her listed at #1 on the list. Why was I so concerned about the wait list? Every city dwelling family I’d spoken to in the Down syndrome community was enrolled at this charter school. I toured it multiple times and it was everything I thought I wanted for Sienna. Why? Everyone told me they have access to more resources and instead of giving 1:1 aides to students they provide paras. Paras are trained on adapting curriculum in addition to offering self care support. I wondered why they had the money to provide this level of support when the public schools did not. After all, charter schools are public schools. I didn’t dwell on that thought for very long. I just assumed they were better at procuring grants and fundraising. That was naive of me.
Let’s fast forward to February 2024. Sienna never moved beyond that #1 spot on the charter school wait list, so we pivoted and ended up at our local neighborhood school, where Sienna is thriving in every way. I became grateful that we never moved beyond that #1 spot, because I would have missed out on the opportunities that a neighborhood school can provide. Sienna doesn’t need a para because she has an awesome aide that helps assist her with self care, and amazing teachers that adapt the curriculum. As her education began, so did mine.
Around this time, the district began contemplating school closures branded as a “Facility Utilization Plan.” Our school was a target on that list the last time (2021) they tried to do this. I was shocked because the PSSA scores were some of the best in the district, despite the fact that our school is majority low income, majority minority, and has a high population of students that require IEPs. So, I dove into learning how and why we got here. I went down rabbit hole after rabbit hole. I watched the Budget workshops and committee meetings to learn why they were contemplating a move this drastic, and in meeting after meeting, one thing stood out. Charter schools were draining the district financially. How? It all has to do with a funding formula established in 1997 that has never been reformed.
Let’s start with the basics. How are neighborhood schools funded? If you are like me, you probably assume that because you pay your property taxes, you are supporting public education. Jason and I chose to send Haley to Catholic school. Truthfully, I made that decision for us, because it’s what I knew. I went to Catholic school for 12 years. It was a safe space and the path of least resistance. Haley’s preschool friends were going to that school. It was our parish and it just made sense. I don’t regret that choice because Haley is in an environment that suits her, but until I had a child that needed the public education system, I was unfamiliar with the nuance of funding. I was privileged. Our local school is funded based on enrollment. Each pupil gives the school a certain dollar amount. The principal then has to budget out costs based on that. At my very first PTA meeting, he went over how funding worked and the Title 1 funding we received. Certain schools get federal title 1 funding if 40% of the population is below the poverty line. Our principal outlined every penny of that spending in a public presentation. I remember asking how special education was factored in. He then explained to me that he had a separate special education budget. The separation of that budget is meant to ensure that the money the school receives for Sienna is spent on Sienna and students with disabilities.
You may be asking yourself – where the heck do my property tax dollars go? That is complicated and our district has a publicly available budget that is over 400 pages. The board decides how some of it is allocated. A large portion of your taxes are probably funding charter schools, so let’s get into that.
Charter schools are the Wild West of Public Education. What started out as a good idea with good intentions is leading to the destruction of local neighborhood schools. That was news to me when I entered this world. It isn’t talked about. It’s information you have to research and find on your own. Up until this year, I talked to many parents in the city about their wonderful experience at a popular charter school, and these fellow citizens believe that by sending their children to charter schools they are participating in the public education system. Here is what they don’t know. Many students have IEPs (Individualized Education Plans), but they may require different levels of support. Maybe Susie needs weekly speech therapy. Maybe John needs individual time with a reading specialist twice a week. Then, there are kids like Sienna, who need multiple therapies a week and an aide. Then, there are kids with medically complex needs who may require nursing support. The students with IEPs in the public education system are given different dollar amounts based on those needs. Three tiers exist and they all come with different investment levels based on the needs of those individual students. Education advocates have fought for this same structure in charter schools, but they have been unsuccessful. In spite of the fact that most students currently enrolled in PA charter schools being on the lowest investment level, charter schools receive an average. What’s worse is that unlike my principal, they don’t have to use those dollars strictly on special education. They can plant new flower beds, or invest in a farming program. Heck, charter schools can even buy real estate. They can literally profit off of students with special needs.
I want to be clear that I do not think all charter schools are bad. I think some of them are worthwhile and have a mission that makes sense. Here in Pittsburgh, there are charter schools specifically designed for students with dyslexia. There is a charter school for students that didn’t benefit from a traditional education. They may have faced disciplinary issues. They may not feel safe in their neighborhood school. These charters make sense to me, but the ones that claim to be a charter school but don’t have a clear mission? Those are killing neighborhood schools. If we continue on this trajectory, we won’t have a public education system. In fact, if our school closes, some parents, including myself, may have no choice but to send their kids to charter schools, “if” they get in through the lottery.
Here is another fun fact – charter schools are not held to the same academic standards as public schools. My district had a nonprofit do an equity report on every school and how they are performing academically. The charter schools are in the book, but there are missing performance standards. Why? They aren’t required to share that information with the public.
So, in summary, charter schools get more funding than neighborhood schools, profit off of students in special education, and have little to no oversight.
The Pennsylvania budget just came out, and you can read for yourself the narrow reform in funding being celebrated. Senator Lindsey Williams is working hard on the education committee to draw attention to this systemic issue, but change seems like a hurdle that is almost impossible to climb.
Here’s a snippet from an article in Spotlight PA about the budget changes approved this summer, “The deal approved Thursday will reduce the amount of tuition cyber charter schools receive from public schools for students with disabilities as of January 2025, saving districts an estimated $34.5 million in the next fiscal year. Charter schools, including cyber charters, are funded via direct payments from public districts that are calculated based on the district’s per-student spending.
If a student has a disability, their tuition is built on that base rate for the district, plus a standard percentage of its spending for all disability services — regardless of the kind of disability the student has. Public school advocates often argue that this unnecessarily inflates costs for many disabled students and burdens public districts.
These advocates, and many Democrats, had supported a plan that would have overhauled the decades-old charter school funding system. Most significantly, that plan would have set a statewide flat tuition rate for public schools’ reimbursements to cyber charters. They also advocated for additional oversight for cyber charters, including capping the massive reserves some of the schools have been able to accrue.
Republican leaders said they agreed the charter reimbursement system was outdated, particularly for cyber schools that have lower overhead costs. However, they favored a different approach — restoring a budget line item cut under a previous GOP administration that added additional funding for public schools in acknowledgment of the cost burdens associated with charter tuition.
Public school advocates opposed that approach, arguing it wouldn’t adequately address the burdens that the charter school funding system places on public schools, and would essentially subsidize cyber charters.
Ultimately, lawmakers added a $100 million line item to the budget that will route money to public school districts that have resident students enrolled in cyber charter schools. The plan does not include any changes to the statewide tuition rate for charters or cyber charters, beyond adjustments to disability payments.”
I share all this in hopes that the message spreads and people ask their legislators to do right by our children, all our children. Privilege does not belong in the public education system. We are so divided that we can’t even agree on things that make sense for our kids. We have to do better. Please reach out to your local politicians and demand they take action to make education accessible to all in a fair manner that doesn’t allow charter schools to profit off of students in special education. It shouldn’t be this hard.