February 27, 2025
PAPCCS Statement about Auditor General’s Public Cyber Charter Schools Audit
HARRISBURG – Marcus Hite, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Public Cyber Charter Schools (PAPCCS), issued the following statement in response to the state auditor general’s recently received public cyber charter school audit report.
“Auditor General Tim DeFoor claimed the report was not politically motivated. However, his remarks suggested a push for cyber restrictions rather than an unbiased review.
“Throughout the press conference, he referenced on three specific occasions that the increase in revenues and fund balances was done legally per the Charter School Law. Let me repeat that, everything was done legally. However, in the same breath, he referenced a previous report completed by his office on 12 public school districts in the Commonwealth in which these districts utilized loopholes in order to grow fund balances on the backs of Pennsylvania’s taxpayers.
“Instead of reviewing and criticizing cyber charter schools for their management of taxpayer dollars, why not dig deeper into all public school districts in Pennsylvania? If this was done, the auditor general would see that over the same period of time this audit was performed, public school districts in the commonwealth collectively have grown their fund balances to over $12 billion – and they’re still growing.
“Additionally, the report misrepresented key financial decisions. The auditor general criticized staff bonuses without acknowledging that these were largely funded by federal relief dollars, which the U.S. Department of Education specifically encouraged for staff retention. Public school districts use taxpayer funds for automatic union-negotiated salary increases; why are cyber charter schools being singled out?
“The auditor general also called for additional changes to the funding formula, despite Act 55 of 2024’s recent cut to special education funding. It is premature to demand further revisions without assessing the full impact of these funding reductions and unfunded mandates signed into law by the governor.
“Furthermore, criticism of Commonwealth Charter Academy’s $196 million investment, without long-term debt obligations, in 21 buildings ignores the reality of online education. Facilities are needed for teacher retention, labs, tutoring, and administration – at a fraction of the cost of traditional school buildings. On average, these buildings cost $9.6 million each, whereas new public school buildings typically cost $60-100 million, excluding the additional impact of long-term interest costs.
“Instead of criticism, public school districts should look toward cyber charter schools for restructuring ideas to operate more effective and efficient educational models.
“The auditor general argued that charter laws, enacted in 2002, need updating – yet, he failed to mention that Pennsylvania’s public school system still operates under the outdated Public School Code of 1949. Real education reform requires examining the inefficiencies in all public school districts, not just cyber charter schools.
“On behalf of the Association and its member schools, we urge the Auditor General to take a truly balanced approach by:
“Innovation in education should be embraced, not targeted. If change is needed, it must start with an honest, systemwide evaluation – not selective scrutiny.”
