PALCS needs you to call PCN today!

Student Senators and parents!

PALCS needs our help. Tomorrow at 7 PM the minority chairman of the education committee is holding a call in program on his bill HB 934. Please call in and let me know that you are planning to do this. I will be listening. We need at least 3 or 4 of you to volunteer, but the more the merrier.

When you call in be prepared to tell your personal story. How has Cyber School helped you specifically? Many students talk about bullying, flexibility or just an out dated educational model that does not fit your learning needs.

Representative James Roebuck is the Democratic Committee Chairman of the house education committee. This powerful committee chooses which education bills will come to the floor for a vote. Roebuck has made the case that educational cuts can be balanced because charter schools are over funded. His plan is to cut charter school funding by $365,000,000 because he believes that they are overfunded. He makes a case for a uniform funding plan. This uniform plan would cut charter school funding by about 40%. This plan does not make sense because it contradicts the local control of educational funding. This is the way all other schools are funded. The inequality of the measure does not seem to bother him. Why should charter school students receive less for their education than any other students in the commonwealth? He wants to cut charter school funding because he sees charter schools as vulnerable. He does not think that the students and parents of these schools will care enough to fight for a cut in their funding. In addition we already receive 30% less than other schools because we do not receive transportation costs or costs for extracurricular activities.

As you know we have a successful student government at our school. This organization flourishes despite these funding cuts. Why should we reform Charter schools in a way that stifles innovation when our educational system is in dire need of it? If these cuts are passed there will be less creativity, like student government and just teaching to the achievement test. These cuts would require a correspondence model that ignores the collaboration and innovation of our unique educational platforms.

Summary: Comprehensive charter reform legislation that would create or require the following:

·                                      Create a funding commission that is not directed to look at equitable funding for all students, but rather to quantify how much money districts are paying for students in charter schools and how that impacts the districts.

·                                      Defines quality on the single criteria of AYP performance and requires charters to close if they do not meet AYP for three consecutive years.

·                                      Adds additional deductions that districts can take on the PDE Form 363 before paying charters.

·                                      Requires limitations on fund balances without addressing the issue that 70% of charter fund balances are required because districts refuse to pay charter    schools.

·                                      Adds additional reporting and compliance requirements to a point where they would be almost double those required of school districts.

HB 934

Please call into PCN tomorrow!

Representative James Roebuck recently introduced HB 934.  This bill would have devastating effects to both cyber charter and brick and mortar charter schools.  Tomorrow, PCPCS President Lawrence Jones, Jr. and Rep. Roebuck will appear on the PCN program "Call In" at 7:00 pm to debate Rep. Roebuck's legislation.

Please tune in to watch and also call 1-877-726-5001 with questions and comments!