New report details wasteful spending at Pa.’s largest cyber charter school

Education Voters of Pennsylvania released a new report this week detailing wasteful spending by the state’s largest cyber charter school. The expenses include over $400,000 at entertainment venues and brand new SUVs. 

This story has been updated to reflect Commonwealth Charter Academy’s response to the original story and issues with Education Voters of Pennsylvania’s report. 

Extravagant spending by Commonwealth Charter Academy, the state’s largest cyber charter school, was called into question earlier this week after Education Voters of Pennsylvania released a report. 

“When Pennsylvanians pay their property taxes, most don’t imagine that their tax dollars will be paying for someone’s dinner at Dockside Willies, O’Reilly’s Tap Room or the Lancaster Brewing Company,” Susan Spicka, Executive Director of the Education Voters of Pennsylvania, said during a press conference in Harrisburg on Monday. 

“They don’t think they’re going to be paying for tickets at the Moscow Ballet or the Erie Philharmonic, and they most certainly do not imagine that their tax dollars will be used to purchase a luxury vehicle or a platinum corporate partner membership to the Hill Society.” 

Education Voters of Pennsylvania obtained check registers from the online school for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 fiscal years, and according to Spicka, “our taxes are Commonwealth Charter Academy’s slush fund.” 

The check register for 2021-22 fiscal year contained over 4,700 redactions, totaling more than $2.2 million, and prevented Education Voters of Pennsylvania from sifting through the school’s financial data for that time period. 

During the 2022-23 fiscal year, Commonwealth Charter Academy spent $404,717 on entertainment. This included a $4,000 membership to the Hill Society, a swanky club for Harrisburg’s elite, and trips to places such as the Pittsburgh Ballet, Falling Water, and Hersheypark.  

Other purchases from the online charter school include a brand new 2025 Ford Explorer ST, which cost $58,832, and three new 2024 Ford Escapes that cost $40,257 each. It is not known who uses the vehicles.

The new report comes at a time when Pennsylvania taxpayers spend over $1 billion a year funding 14 cyber charter schools, which have not been audited by the state since 2016.

Spicka called on the state to conduct an immediate forensic audit of Commonwealth Charter Academy. She also wants the Pennsylvania legislature to pass a moratorium halting new cyber charter schools until all current cyber charter schools have valid charters and a tuition cap of $9,500 for each regular student.

“Every dollar that CCA spends on DoorDash or hotel rooms or at brew pubs and vineyards is a dollar that was intended to be invested in educating Pennsylvania’s public school students,” Spicka said.

“These are dollars that could be used to pay for more teachers and counselors and nurses in students’ classrooms. They could be used to reduce class sizes, or hire aides, or pay for special education services. These are dollars that could be used to fix leaky roofs, or to abate asbestos, or to install HVAC systems.”

Commonwealth Charter Academy highlighted discrepancies in the original report by Education Voters of Pennsylvania. For example, the report alleged a $94,000 payment for staff reimbursement when the actual amount was $940. Education Voters of Pennsylvania acknowledged the discrepancies in an email and corrected several items in the document.