Cyber charter schools always underperform
I read with interest the letter sent by Michael J. Conti, CEO of the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, in the Wednesday edition of the Observer-Reporter. I am concerned about the “facts” as he perceives them and would like to try to provide some balance on this subject.
As I researched the data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education website regarding the School Performance Profiles that Conti references in his letter, I compiled the SPP scores for all cyber charter schools. There are distinct differences between cyber charter schools and charter schools that bear separating in how they are treated. There is not sufficient space in this letter to address that issue, but it is my belief that the cyber programs attempt to avoid this separation as charter schools fare a little better academically.
The data for the 2013-14 school year will clearly point out that the SPP scores for cyber charter schools statewide ranges from a low score of 28.9 to a high score of 66 for the 14 cyber charter schools available online. Scores below 60 are the lowest segment of scores, and viewed as the lowest performing schools in the commonwealth.
There are only two cyber programs with scores greater than 60 on the SPP, the highest being 21st Century with an SPP score of 66 and Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School with an SPP score of 63.4. Conti’s Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School had an SPP score of 55.5. By comparison, the lowest building SPP score in Washington County for the 2013-14 school year was a 60. There are six school buildings with SPP scores from 60 to 66 in Washington County. The remaining Washington County public schools, 47 in total, exceed the highest achieving cyberschool in the commonwealth.
Interestingly, every school building in Washington County outperformed the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, most by wide margins. While Washington County SPP scores do not represent the total commonwealth data, Conti’s letter will influence public opinion in this area and it is a fair to provide data that is significant to the Observer-Reporter‘s readership.
I would also recommend that any interested reader review the financial information on the SPP website for school districts. Fund balance information is listed there as well as total expenditures and income. The Pennsylvania Department of Education recommends school districts retain fund balances that are 7 percent to 10 percent of their operating budget. For the 2013-14 SPP report, Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School reported income totaling $124,349,883. Their reported fund balance was $29,780,218. I doubt that you can find a school district in Washington County with a fund balance of 23.9 percent of its operating budget.
Please check the facts I have put forward from the Pennsylvania Department of Education website and form your own opinion.
George Lammay
Scenery Hill
Lammay is an assistant superintendent in Bentworth School District.