Online school has become very popular in recent years, and Greencastle-Antrim School District along with other Franklin County school districts are moving forward by creating the cyber school Franklin Virtual Academy.

The academy is one piece of a consortium among the county’s school districts in which schools will share supplies and combine buying power in an effort to save money.

The Greencastle-Antrim School Board unanimously voted to join the consortium in mid-May, which includes moving forward with the academy.

“We’re going to make money on this deal,” said Dr. C. Gregory Hoover, G-ASD superintendent.

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A Philadelphia lawmaker wants to shift cyber school financing from the school districts to the state.

State Rep. James Roebuck, Democratic chairman of the House Education Committee, introduced a bill on Monday that would make reforms to charter and cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania. It would relieve school districts of $187 million in mandated costs for cyber schools. School districts have been paying cyber school tuition and only receiving partial reimbursement from the state.

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Salisbury Township School Board adopted a proposed final budget that would raise property taxes 3.4 percent to cover rising costs, make up for decreased revenues and pay for previous debt.

The school board received exceptions from the state to raise the rate above the Act 1 index. Business Manager Christine Stafford said the rate is 0.9 mills above what the index allows.

The proposed increase would bring the district tax rate to 46.9901 mills. That means the owner of a property assessed at the district average of $71,000 would pay $109 more next year for a total tax bill of $3,336.

School board President Russell Giordano said the tax increase will raise $664,000 for the district. He noted that the district must spend $500,000 each year for students attending cyber schools and other charter schools.

For the rest of the article, go to Salisbury school board proposes tax hike

Charter and cyber school officials say a revised state formula to calculate graduation rates is unfair because it assumes students earn diplomas in four years, and students who struggle academically or socially might need more time to complete their education.

“We’re often a second or third attempt at obtaining a high school diploma,” said Patricia Rosetti, principal at Pennsylvania Distance Learning Charter School, a Sewickley-based cyber school. “In high school, half of the kids that enroll in ninth grade, it’s their second attempt at passing.”

Starting in 2012, the state will factor graduation rates into its standards for schools under the federal No Child Left Behind act. Developed under federal mandate, the new model won’t count as graduates those students who earn diplomas in five or six years. State officials could petition the government for permission to count fifth- and sixth-year graduates, but have not.

For the rest of the article, go to New Pa. graduation rate calculation denounced