Cyber charter spent $52K in tax funds on Phillies tickets, records show

Pennsylvania’s largest cyber charter school used tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to fund tickets to Philadelphia Phillies games for families, according to newly released public records.

A Right-to-Know request revealed 21 pages of invoices showing Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA) spent $52,800 on 2,400 Phillies tickets for a single game on July 24, 2023. That total — paid entirely with public education funds — covered enough tickets to fill an entire section of Citizens Bank Park.

The spending is part of a broader pattern outlined in a financial analysis by Education Voters of Pennsylvania, which reviewed the school’s check registers for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years.

According to the group’s report, the school spent more than $116,000 on 456 dining purchases; more than $405,000 on entertainment, including a corporate membership to the Hill Society; more than $603,000 on vehicle purchases and car care; and about $407,000 on shopping expenses, many of which were labeled with unclear purpose codes.

The report also documented more than $1.2 million in cash disbursements to families and $626,000 in staff-related payments.

Tim Eller, spokesperson for CCA, said the Phillies tickets were part of the school’s annual Family Fun Fest, a summer event series designed to build community among its large statewide student body.

“We do see it as a beneficial expense because it brings together the school community as a cyber school,” Eller said. “Kids learn online, and this lets families meet with each other, allows for students to socialize, and allows families to meet with staff and teachers.”

Eller noted such events represent a very small portion of the school’s overall budget, which totals more than $600 million for nearly 36,000 students.

“The amount of money we put into those types of events is less than 1%, probably less than half a percent or even a tenth of a percent of our total spending,” he said. “The vast majority of our money goes into educating students.”

Eller clarified that some payments to vendors — including those listed as wineries on Education Voters’ reports — were actually for student field trips to events such as the Pennsylvania Renaissance Fair. He noted families contribute toward field trip costs.

“These trips extend classroom learning and provide immersive, hands-on experiences aligned with educational standards,” he said.

Eller added that staff travel is necessary for a statewide school and includes expenses such as meals, tolls, and mileage, with spending guidelines in place.

Critics argue that the data highlights what they perceive as a lack of financial oversight in Pennsylvania’s cyber charter sector, where schools receive public funding but are not subject to the same transparency standards as traditional public districts.

“Education Voters has spent years filing Right-to-Know requests and trying to show the public — and our state lawmakers — the absolute, grotesque waste of dollars that should be invested in students’ classrooms,” said Susan Spicka, executive director of Education Voters of Pennsylvania.

CCA, which enrolls more than 20,000 students statewide, has previously defended such expenditures as efforts to build community among families in a virtual learning environment.

State law does not currently prohibit these types of expenses. Critics argue the system allows for excessive spending with little oversight. Several proposals to reform charter school funding and increase financial transparency have stalled in the General Assembly.

Meanwhile, public school districts continue to cite underfunding as a barrier to hiring staff, maintaining facilities, and providing classroom materials. A 2023 Commonwealth Court ruling found Pennsylvania’s school funding system unconstitutional and called for reform, though lawmakers have yet to reach a long-term solution.

The Phillies’ outing is the latest flashpoint in the ongoing debate over charter oversight and public school funding.

“There are people paying property taxes every year who are going without medicine or food,” Spicka said. “Meanwhile, those taxes are being used to take cyber charter kids and their families out to a day at a Phillies game.”