Representatives of cyber schools and their supporters say contentions that they get too much money from traditional public school coffers are wrong.
Fred Miller, communication specialist for the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, said traditional public schools "keep about 50 percent of the cost for students they don't have to educate."
Public schools claim the state needs to regulate how much money cyber schools receive. The state Department of Education says it wants to have a statewide tuition rate, but the proposal has been shot down in the Legislature.
Because cyber schools are designated as public schools, state law requires school districts to pay cyber schools for students who are educated through them. District officials say they must pay cyber schools the amount they spend per student.
School districts, though, receive up to 30 percent in per-pupil reimbursements from the state for cyber students, according to the Commonwealth Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Harrisburg that develops and advances public policy.
In addition to the state money, public schools also keep about 25 percent of their per-student costs because cyber schools don't have expenses for facilities and transportation, Miller said.
That effectively increases the per-pupil spending for traditional schools, according to the foundation report.
Public cyber charter schools use their resources more efficiently than traditional "brick and mortar" schools, the report also states. Less than 2 percent of cyber schools' money goes toward construction, debt or facility operations, compared with more than 13 percent for traditional public schools.
Some districts don't pay the cyber school tuition costs because there is no penalty in the law for not doing so, Miller said. The state makes up the difference, but that money usually doesn't come through immediately. That means cyber schools sometimes have to borrow money until the state dollars are available, he said.
Miller disputes charges that cyber schools are making a profit. This year, his cyber school had a budget of $80 million and had to borrow $12 million to get the academic year started before the money came through to the school. He said each year the school's startup costs include computers and Internet access for new students.
A statewide rate for cyber-school reimbursement would not help poorer schools, Miller said.
"If you impose a statewide rate, the rich get rich and the poor get poorer," he said. "The basic problem is an inequity of school funding."
Carolyn Fell, director of communications for the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, said she is disturbed questions about cyber schools always come back to money.
"It should be about education," she said, adding that the decisions made should be about what's best for students.