PA. directing more tax money into cyber charter schools, despite poor results so far

[JPZenger]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/10/1108237/-Working-economy-digest-Pennsylvania-s-failing-cyber-charter-program-gets-expanded

The state did recently START to stop funding the Frontier CyberCharter School - months after the State accidentally discovered that the cyber had laid off their teachers and had not been providing the promised computer equipment and access to students.

Pa. has been way-overfunding cyber charters. We are also paying much more per student than many other states. The only major cyber charter that is doing well is one run by a consortium of PUBLIC school districts. Most public school districts are starting to offer their own cyber programs, because they know they can provide the service for ONE-HALF of what it is costing taxpayers to fund the for-profit cyber charters.

By the way, go ahead, guess who has been Corbett's largest campaign contributor. And then guess what company used to employ his budget chief.

[Pat Riot]

1. 4 ads for charter schools on this page as I read your post

This reminds me of the Scranton Wilkes-Barre juvie prison thing, where they closed down the public facility, then the judge sent kid after kid to a privately run facility owned by him and his friends. Privatization for profit and union busting.

I thought Range Resources was his biggest contributor.

[Freedomofspeech]

2. Cyber charter schools are for profit....

They are using our school tax dollars to advertise all over the state, also TV and radio ads on every stations. These schools never make AYP and are breaking the backs of our local school districts. Such a disgrace what Gov. Corebutt and his republicons are doing to public education in this Commonwealth.

[femmocrat]

3. The owner of the Pennsylvania Cyber School is under federal criminal investigation:

FBI, IRS search offices of Pennsylvania cyber school
July 13, 2012 12:00 am
By Torsten Ove / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Federal agents executed a series of search warrants Thursday at Pennsylvania Cyber School offices in Beaver County and at several other locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio in connection with an ongoing investigation that authorities would not specify.

Agents from the FBI, the criminal investigation division of the IRS and the U.S. Department of Education's inspector general's unit searched the school's executive office at 1200 Midland Ave. in Midland along with an accounting firm in Koppel and several other locations.

The U.S. attorney's office in Pittsburgh said in a statement only that the searches are part of an investigation and that the cyberschool, "as an entity, is not a current target of this investigation."

In at least one location, Prence Certified Public Accountants in Koppel, IRS and FBI agents were seen carrying boxes out of the building.

Federal authorities refused to comment further on the case. The cyberschool reiterated the U.S. attorney's statement that it is not a target.

Link: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/education/fbi-irs-search-offices-of-cyberschool-in-midland-cpa-firm-644490/?print=1

From femmocrat: It isn't the school, but its owner Nick Trombetta, who also faced a grand jury for misuse of funds in 2007, who is the target of the investigation. JMO, but all that "free money" would be hard to resist for a dishonest person.