Dive Brief:
- Pennsylvania's Education Plus Academy Cyber School shuttered abruptly following a vote and subsequent approval from the virtual charter’s board this week, leaving a number of parents angered as 540 students in grades K-8 were left in the lurch.
- The downhill slide began last week when the school’s bank froze its accounts, Philly.com reported, leading it to lay off its entire staff — though the charter previously promised parents it would remain open until June 2016.
- Education Plus CEO Nicholas Torres and others reportedly want to open another charter, this one a brick-and-mortar school called City Academy Charter School, in Philadelphia next fall.
Dive Insight:
The current budget freeze in the state of Pennsylvania contributed to the financial quicksand that engulfed Education Plus, board chairman Richard Binswanger said, since the charter wasn’t able to access any state funding.
In the state, the financial impasse is so severe that some teachers even agreed to work without pay at the start of the 2015-16 school year. Previously, in 2014, Pennsylvania cut a staggering $32 million from its education budget, which included slashing school cleaning, bus service, and security measures.
Additionally, Gov. Tom Wolfe has publicly supported cuts to virtual charter funding from the state.
