State Rep. Karen Beyer Against Education

Back in May, State Rep. Karen Beyer introduced HB446, a bill that would cut funding and cap enrollment at Pennsylvania cyber schools, among other things. A biased summary can be read here.

The House Education Committee has scheduled hearings in the Pittsburgh area today and tomorrow to discuss this bill.

Pennsylvania Families for Cyber Schools has stated that this bill will close cyber schools in Pennsylvania. They have even taken a full page ad in this mornings The Morning Call, directed at Karen Beyer, urging her to really listen to the people at the hearings.

Cyber schools are a great alternative for many students who want a better education and for those who have trouble in the brick and mortar schools. The scores of these schools are amongst the highest in the state.

Letting these schools go would be a terrible idea.

Who is behind this: Rep. Karen Beyer is the sponser of the bill. There are many co-sponsors, including two local democrats, State Rep. Jennifer Mann and State Rep. Rich Grucela. They are just representing their special interests, however. The real culprit here is the PSEA and the PSBA. A simple search of the campaign contribution records indicates that Beyer received $3,500 in a single period last year from PSEA-PACE and over $4,500 in the last year! They have also made contributions to Mann.

Seems to me that Rep. Karen Beyer's real interest is in serving the special interests that contribute to her campaign.