Dear Families,

It is always great to see our side of the story in print! Both Pittsburgh area newspapers published reaction to their stories about Rep. Karen Beyer's press conference last week, where she said she would "leave no stone unturned" in pursuit of her anti-cyber school  legislation.

Since government figures have easy access to the press, it is extremely important we respond when there are stories falsely critical of our schools. Letters to the editor do work -- they are read by both lawmakers and the public. The more people learn about public cyber schools, the harder it is to deny these innovative schools work for thousands of families in Pennsylvania.

So when you see an article in your local paper - respond!

Below are the two letters which were published. Great job by Karen Wood-Campbell in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette!

Stay energized!

Jenny Bradmon, president

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Monday June 9, 2008

We should encourage cyber schools

So Rep. Karen Beyer tells us that putting a cap on cyber school budgets (a cap that no other public or charter schools must live with) is reasonable because "any parochial school will tell you they can more than educate a child for $7,000" ("Districts Seek to Fix Imbalanced Charter School Costs," June 4).

Her claim that her motives are to save taxpayer money are specious at best, considering that she is targeting schools that spend far less than traditional public schools. Why target schools that are already spending only 70 percent of what traditional schools spend if you are trying to cut costs?

I have to wonder what exactly her motivation is, because as a parent of a PA Cyber Charter School student, I am perfectly happy with the school and my daughter's education and cannot understand why a system that is working so well for so many people is coming under repeated attack by Rep. Beyer and others in Harrisburg.

Cyber education is becoming widely accepted even at the college level, and attacks like Rep. Beyer's are akin to buggy owners trying to limit the number of automobiles that can be sold. Instead of fighting it tooth-and-nail, our leaders in Harrisburg should be championing our state's role as a pioneer in this new educational frontier.

KAREN WOOD-CAMPBELL
McCandless

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Defending Cyber Schools

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Rep. Karen Beyer's legislation on public cyber schools ("Cyber school reform bill pushed," June 4 and PghTrib.com) is a thinly veiled attempt to set limits on school choice and put at risk more than 21,000 Pennsylvania families who've found a solution to their children's educational challenges through cyber schools.

Rep. Beyer would have you think cyber schools are a massive drain on school budgets. They account for less than half of 1 percent of what we spend on education in Pennsylvania, and school districts spend less money per pupil on cyber students.

Beyer has simply refused to let the facts get in the way of her agenda.

This agenda apparently is protecting the status quo by stomping out innovation and competition to do the bidding of the same group of bureaucrats who spend millions on lavish buildings and Astroturf and whose debt service alone for these luxuries would dwarf what is spent to educate public cyber school students.

There is no other credible explanation for her actions, because public cyber schools are legitimate, thriving and successful.

Jenny Bradmon

Rices Landing