I am writing to ask you to not support the current budget proposal by Governor Wolf that contains a proposed $27M cut to PA Cyber Charter Schools. The Commonwealth Senate is also proposing a 6.7% cut.
My experience has been different from what has been reported in the news about the ineffectiveness of a virtual setting in education. This year in our extra curricular student council students wrote and submitted a bill that will solve the problem of individual guidance for students in the exit step after high school. The students wrote a bill that uses technology to solve this problem. This bill has been introduced by Dan Truitt in the House of Representatives. To solve the problem students from across the Commonwealth met in virtual classrooms with me for two years to brainstorm, and solve this difficult problem, I am the adviser for this student run organization. I do not believe we could have solved this problem in a traditional setting. The varied input from rural and urban areas filtered out blind spots in the process of developing a statewide solution.
These students have also written a constitution for their organization this year. Throughout our 12 year history our students have developed and implemented effective rules to govern their own actions. This process has resulted in international trips to Panama, an exchange program to China, proms and talent shows on both sides of the state, a self regulated forum of free speech, and a yearbook.
Cyber charters already begin with an average of 25% less in funding than traditional district schools, although they are required to provide the same level of education. The Governor’s proposed cuts would be an 18%-20% reduction to the average basic education funding for these students that are already receiving less.These cuts would severely impact the Cyber Charter Schools’ ability to properly educate their students, especially those with specialized needs. Students attending Cyber Charter Schools do so because traditional public schools have not met their specific academic and/or personal needs. I hope that you agree with me that parents should have the right to public school choice and that their children should be treated equally no matter where they receive an education.
Sincerely,
Pat Parris
No comments:
Post a Comment