Posted by Howard Richman on June 25 2008 at 12:06:14:
In Pennsylvania, cyber-charter schools educate students for approximately 78% of the brick and mortar schools, but that doesn´t stop school district from blaming cyber-charter costs whenever students leave their brick-and-mortar schools to enroll in cyber-charter schools at school district expense.
If school population were rising, they would blame rising school taxes on rising enrollment because they would have to add teachers and classrooms. However, when enrollment falls because of growing enrollment in cyber-charter schools, they never even seem to consider the possibility that they could cut costs by cutting teachers, administrators, and classrooms.
Here is a selection from the story about the Waynesbrg School District´s School Board meeting by Jennifer Fitch in today´s Hagerstown Morning-Mail:
WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The Waynesboro Area School Board on Tuesday approved its 2008-09 operating budget, which becomes the district´s first annual spending plan authorized to exceed $50 million.HowardTo make up for a deficit from projected revenues, the board agreed to pull 2.5 mills from existing savings and impose an additional 3.5 mills of taxes on property owners. The budget was approved at $50.7 million, which includes two roof projects and a library software system previously kept separate from general budget discussions....
School administrators, in earlier budget discussions, said no single expenditure is expected to escalate substantially next year, but pointed to increased costs for cyber charter schools, natural gas and the Franklin County Career and Technology Center as factors in increased spending....