Letters: Charter schools should be accountable; Never too late for lifestyle changes

Charter schools should be accountable

On Nov. 22 I attended a public roundtable on charter school reform at Penn State where Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera was a participant. As a member of the Parent Advisory Committee for Education Voters of PA, I was specifically interested in hearing about charter school funding.

At the roundtable, there was a near-unanimous call for charter school reform, particularly related to how charter schools are funded and the lack accountability for student performance.

The funding model for charter schools in Pennsylvania is broken. School districts pay brick-and-mortar and cyber charter schools for students with disabilities based on the average amount that a district spends educating those students, not on the actual cost of providing the charter school students with the services they need.

Some area school districts spend nearly $30,000 in tuition for each charter/cyber charter student with a disability, even if that student requires, for example, just 30 minutes per week of speech therapy. The cost of services can total thousands of dollars less than the district is paying.

In 2014-2015, charter schools reported receiving $100 million more in special education tuition payments than they spent on educating students. They are then able to spend excess special funding on anything, including lavish CEO salaries, shareholder profits and more.

According to our constitution, Pennsylvania “shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education...” As voters we can hold charter schools more accountable for their spending and performance.

Never too late for lifestyle changes

Having moved from the area years ago, I check the hometown local newspapers daily for local news, the opinion section and the obituaries. At my age I see that a lot of my friends are dying. I find it sad that so many people in the 40-60 age group refuse to do the simple things to prolong their lives. This includes quitting smoking or drinking excessively and trying to lose weight by a change of diet or just some simple exercise.

I have had too many friends this past year who have been diagnosed with cancer and still smoke. Many are overweight and refuse to alter their diets. They say: “this is all we have.” Do they forget their families or grandchildren or spouses ? For those reasons alone, people should take better care of themselves. None of them cost any money to do. In fact, it will save you money in the long run because of the cost of the alcohol and cigarettes. Exercise is free.

I am 68, in very good health and not overweight. I also recently changed my bad eating habits. I eat less red meat, exercise more; I even joined a gym over the winter months. I want to live longer and see my grandchildren grow up and enjoy life to its fullest. You should too!