Auditor general begins series of meetings on charter schools

By J.D. Prose jprose@timesonline.com | Posted: Tuesday, February 25, 2014 5:21 pm

ROSS TWP. -- Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale launched a statewide series of meetings on charter schools here Tuesday with topics ranging from charter authorization to school funding.

Joined by state Sen. Jim Brewster, D-45, McKeesport, in the Ross Township Municipal Building, DePasquale listened to six speakers over 2½ hours, including Stephen Catanzarite, the executive director of development at the National Network of Digital Schools in Rochester.

Catanzarite, who helped found the Baden Academy Charter School and the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School, used his time to address what he called myths about charter schools. 

Public and charter schools were created by legislation and "share the same vision." However, he said charter schools are unfairly looked upon as taking money from schools through student enrollment.

"A student, a child, is not the property of school district," he said.

Catanzarite also said charter schools "are doing more with less" money once spending formulas are broken down. And, he argued that statistics showing public schools outperforming charter schools are "misleading."

Ostensibly, there should be collaboration between local districts and charter schools after districts authorize a charter, Catanzarite told DePasquale.

Instead, Catanzarite said the relationship is "usually contentious" during the authorization process, is non-existent for five years and then returns to being contentious when the charter is up for renewal.

Jeremy Resnick, the executive director of the Propel Schools Foundation in Pittsburgh, also addressed the authorization issue, saying that Pennsylvania should study what other states, such as New York, are doing to reform its program.

Jenny Bradmon, the executive director of Pennsylvania Families for Public Cyber Schools, shared her daughters' experience in cyber charter education and criticized pending bills in the Legislature that, she said, would unfairly target cyber school funding.

"If you're going to look at how public cyber schools are funded, look at all of our public schools and apply a standard that treats all students equally," she said. "Our children are not and should not be treated as second-class students."

A definite public school supporter was Linda Hippert, the executive director of the 42-member Allegheny Intermediate Unit. She said the current funding formula leaves public schools and charter schools competing for money.

"Despite the initial premise that charter schools would save the districts monies, we know that the charter school expenses have an extremely negative financial impact on the traditional public schools that is also leading to decreased services in those traditional public schools," she said.

Hippert said officials need to review a funding program based on per-student spending that has Quaker Valley School District sending $14,298 per student to a charter school while South Allegheny School District would send $7,719 per student to the same charter school "for the same education."

DePasquale said afterward that he was intrigued by the authorization issue and the lack of collaboration between traditional public schools and charters. His second of five public meetings on charter schools will be held Thursday in Easton.