If you’ve been following Ed Voters over the last few years, you know we’ve done extensive work advocating for real, meaningful cyber charter reform in Pennsylvania. We’ve spent countless hours digging through invoices, attending cyber charter board meetings, reviewing board packets, and translating complicated financial documents into clear findings that lawmakers and the public can actually use. 

Last year, we published our Waste of the Week series on a weekly basis, uncovering patterns of spending that raised serious questions about transparency, accountability, and whether taxpayer dollars were truly being prioritized for students. 

Now, with Gov. Shapiro proposing an additional $75 million in cyber charter savings in this year’s budget, it feels like an important moment to zoom out again and revisit why this issue isn’t going away — and why reform continues to matter for taxpayers and students alike. Over the past year, PennLive has done just that by publishing an in-depth investigative series into Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools with a particular focus on the state’s largest and fastest-growing cyber.

Taken together, the reporting reveals a pattern:        

 • Rapid enrollment growth that staff say is outpacing academic capacity. Questions about curriculum quality and student learning outcomes.
         • Board practices that limit public participation and transparency.
         • Millions spent on buildings for a “school without schools” model.
         • Ongoing debates about oversight, governance, and for-profit influence. Taken together, the reporting reveals a pattern that deserves continued attention from policymakers and the public alike.

Find links to four articles below. Visit PennLive to read the entire series. 
✅ Staff at Pa.’s largest cyber school say flood of new students has taken focus from academics
✅  Pa.’s largest cyber school doesn’t always prioritize quality in its curriculum, say staff
✅  How Pa.’s largest public cyber charter school discourages public participation
✅  Pa.’s largest cyber school is spending $500 million on a network of buildings

As budget negotiations move forward, conversations about cyber charter reform will continue. These articles provide important context for that discussion — and reinforce why transparency, accountability, and responsible stewardship of public dollars must remain at the center of it.

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