School Board Discusses Charter Schools

The West Chester Area School District Property and Finance Committee discussed drafting a letter to express concerns the school board has about charter schools to state lawmakers on Monday night.

“We give a lot of money out to these schools,” said board member Linda Raileanu.  “But, we don’t get a whole lot of accountability back, and this needs to be corrected.”

According to the District Director of Business Affairs Dr. Suzanne Moore charter schools are not required to submit financial reports to the districts that provide them with money, and only one school in the West Chester Area School District does so voluntarily.

“I’m not saying whether or not we should fund charter schools,” said board member Sue Tiernan.  “I would just like to see more transparency and accountability.”

According to Tiernan the district pays out almost $7.5 million annually to help fund charter school tuition for students in the district.

“Charter schools is a huge topic that’s controversial to say the least,” said board member Dr. Maria Pimley.  “However, the way we view them is very different than how they are viewed in the inner-city.  When we draft a letter we should be mindful of how legislation could affect the state as a whole.”

Superintendent Dr. Jim Scanlon volunteered to draft a letter for the board, which they will discuss further at July’s property and finance committee meeting.