The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Post-Gazette have stories on the renewed push to reduce cyber school funding.

Rep. Karen Beyer and other proponents are touting that:

• The bill would save $18 million ($13 million when you deduct reimbursements to districts, or, $3.76 per homeowner).
• Cyber schools have “large surpluses.” This ignores that cybers need fund surpluses when districts refuse to pay and that many school districts have large surpluses – some are even raising property taxes in spite of large surpluses.
• Cybers don’t have buildings, so they need less money.  Of course, cyber schools already receive about 30% less funding, since they don’t get money for buildings (though their technology cost are significantly higher than school districts)

The most astonishing quote is when Rep. Beyer says “Any parochial school will tell you they can more than educate a child for $7,000.”   While this is true (parochial schools’ tuition is in the $2,500-$5,000 range, and their total costs are likely around $4,000-$7,000 per pupil) it says less about cyber schools than it does about the overspending and Edifice Complex of school districts.

Consider that cyber schools educate 20,000 students at about $9,000 per-pupil, compared with school districts with 1,800,000 students @ $12,000 per-pupil.  Where is the real taxpayer savings?  Representative Beyer should either push for caps on school district spending, or push for more school choice programs – since school choice saves taxpayers.

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In related news, Bob Maranto has an editorial in the Philadelphia Daily News on the reporting on charter school scandals. He notes that charter schools are more accountable – in that they depend on parents choosing them, and that they can be shut down,

But more importantly, charter schools in Philadelphia are – get this – educating their students:

Philadelphia charter schools have a 94 percent graduation rate
compared with barely 50 percent for traditional public schools, despite the charters’ spending 31 percent less per pupil. Academically, the charters reach 90 percent of their academic Adequate Yearly Progress goals under No Child Left Behind, compared with 84 percent for traditional schools.