Pennsylvania Governor Sets Out To Fix “Worst Charter School Laws” In Nation

Pennsylvania Governor Sets Out To Fix “Worst Charter School Laws” In Nation

Pennsylvania Governor Sets Out To Fix “Worst Charter School Laws” In Nation

It was Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale who four years ago deemed Pennsylvania’s charter school law the “worst in the United States,” but it may be Governor Tom Wolf who takes a first step toward fixing it. The law is over two decades old, and after letting that sleeping dog continue to lie for the first part of his term, Governor Tom Wolf has pledged to push changes in accountability and funding rules for the charter school industry.

Pennsylvania already has school funding problems. Pennsylvania has ranked consistently near the very bottom for contributing state money to local districts, which means that local districts must provide the bulk of the money to run schools. Since schools depend on that local funding, it’s no surprise that the commonwealth also has the largest gaps between rich and poor districts in the country.

Charter funding exacerbates the funding problem, with some communities having been besieged by charter schools that are draining taxpayer dollars. At one point, Chester Uplands School District was paying more to charter schools than it was receiving in support from the state.

Charter schools are paid on a per-pupil basis, based on the per-pupil CONTINUE READING: Pennsylvania Governor Sets Out To Fix “Worst Charter School Laws” In Nation