State to increase oversight of charter schools

A new division of the Pennsylvania Department of Education will provide financial oversight of charter schools, among other things, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday.

The PDE Division of Charter Schools will work directly with charter schools to improve student achievement and boost parental involvement. The division will monitor student growth and attendance, charter schools' compliance with improvement plans and analyze data submitted annually to the Education Department.

“Charter schools play an important role in our education system, but that role must be accompanied by sufficient oversight,” Wolf said in a statement.

Charter schools are self-managed, taxpayer-funded schools that are approved by local school districts or the state.

The announcement came the same day that the former CEO of Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, Nick Trombetta, agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy after siphoning $8 million from the school. PA Cyber, based in Midland, is the state's largest cyber charter school.

A spokeswoman for PDE said the timing of the announcement was not related to Trombetta's case.

Bob Fayfich, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools, said he was disappointed no charter schools were consulted before the new division was created.

“We are cautiously optimistic, but the charter community has been burned before and our honest initial impression is that this may be another effort to undermine school choice in Pennsylvania,” he said.

Elizabeth Behrman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-320-7886 or Lbehrman@tribweb.com.