In the school district of Sto-Rox in western Allegheny County there is a disagreement between the district and a prospective K-12 brick and mortar charter school that wants to locate in the district’s boundaries. The school board rejected the charter’s petition, but the charter school appealed to the state’s appeal board. That’s the status quo under the state’s charter law.
Sto-Rox is fearful of the effects that a charter school could have on its district, and thus has a vested interest in not allowing for competition. That’s what was made evident when the district first rejected the charter’s application.
So this begs the question: should Pennsylvania devise a different system of approving charter schools? A recent state report looked at the topic and examined whether an independent board or giving institutions of higher education charter approval powers would be preferable. To date, 48 school districts have approved 159 charter schools in PA (the Dept of Education authorizes cyber charters). In nearly all of the 42 states that allow charters the local school district has a role in approval, though it may be shared with the state. Ultimately the report recommends a pilot program for PA that would involve institutions of higher education on a limited basis.
