Charter Schools: Tracking Right-to-Know Request
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PSBA filed a Right-to-Know request with Pennsylvania charter and cyber charter schools on May 15, 2015. PSBA is tracking the response from each charter in the table below and updating it on a weekly basis. According to Right-to-Know Law, public entities have five days from receipt of an open records request by the agency’s open records officer to either 1) provide the requested records (indicated by a green check); 2) deny the request and give reasons for the denial (indicated by a red X); or 3) invoke a 30-day extension for specific legal reasons (indicated by an (E)).
PARSS Voices Support for School Board Association’s Right to Know Requests of Charter Schools
On May 15th Pennsylvania School Boards Association filed Right to Know requests for financial information with all 180 of Pennsylvania’s charter schools. PARSS (the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools) strongly supports these requests.
Charter schools were created by the General Assembly and Governor Tom Ridge as an alternative to traditional public schools. A major objective was stated as the desire to improve traditional schools by giving them competition. What the proponents of charters didn’t specify was that it should be fair competition.
The financial burden of paying for charters falls entirely on local taxpayers. What they get in return for this obligation is almost no information on how the money is being spent. The lack of transparency and accountability is at cross purposes with the goal of traditional public vs. charter school competition.
Rural children who attend charters almost exclusively go to cyber charter schools. Apart from any other problems caused local districts by the cyber charters and their bad academic performance, the lack of financial information and accountability has led to scores of confrontations across the Commonwealth.
Given the many millions that have been, and are being, spent on these schools, more information may help lead to a better way to fund them, more in keeping with their actual expense of schooling.
PARSS member districts applaud PSBA’s action and hope that it results in a fairer shake for rural schools and taxpayers.
Contact: Joe Bard, 717-503-9252, jfbard@parss.org
