• What is a charter school?

    A charter school is a school that is publicly funded, but privately operated. Charter schools claim they are tuition-free, however its funds come from taxpayer dollars paid to the resident’s home public school district that is responsible for the tuition of those students who live within the district’s boundaries, but attend a charter school. Bellefonte Area School District offers transportation up to 10 miles from the district’s border for students attending a charter school.

    Charter schools were established more than 25 years ago, after the passing of the charter school law, as a way to create alternative and more flexible education with specialized curriculum often by focusing on a set of skills or studies, rather than the whole. Commonly created by nonprofit groups, charter schools are generally for-profit enterprises and have appointed board members who may be paid for their roles, rather than elected officials as you would see at public school districts across the commonwealth. Bellefonte Area School District is served by nine elected school board members. You can learn more about the Bellefonte Area school board, here: Bellefonte Area school board

    Visit this link to learn more about charter schools by the state Department of Education: Charter schools, PDE

     

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