The school funding trial shifted gears on Wednesday, as the legislative respondents in the case, Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman and House Speaker Brian Cutler, called their first witness.
In this trial about funding for public education, their first witness was Aaron Anderson, CEO and head of school at the Logos Academy, a small K-12 private Christian school with 225 students in York, Pa. The school graduates 10 to 12 students per year. Anderson, an ordained minister, has headed the school since 2014.
Anderson testified about his school’s history, finances, demographics, and success in educating students academically and spiritually, as well as the resources they are able to provide their students.
On cross-examination, Anderson acknowledged that his school chooses not to admit some students. He said, “There are students that – for various reasons, could be funding or other otherwise – that we may not be able to serve.”
He said every student who attends Logos must submit an application, and graduating classes are capped, typically below 20 students. The admissions process becomes more selective in the later grades and takes into account student report cards, standardized test scores, statements of interest in the school, and behavioral reports.
One component of the screening in the admissions process at Logos is academic testing. “If there's a great grade disparity,” Anderson said, “a student comes in testing for 9th grade and they have a 5th grade reading level – we may look at that and say that may be a student we would struggle to serve.”
The school does not have an autistic support or emotional support classroom. Anderson said, “We do serve some students with special needs, but again, because of our funding mechanism, that’s a great example where a public school district is probably going to be a much better resource to serve those particular kids.”
Anderson also agreed the school would need a “much better program in place for language support” to admit English learners with extensive language support needs. And he noted that students with certain behavioral issues might not be suited for Logos.
He said his school serves students from 12 different school districts, but 70-80% of students come from the York City School District. He said Logos is unique among private schools because it prioritizes serving families that cannot pay full tuition, though the school believes that every family should contribute financially toward the cost of education.
Anderson agreed that students experiencing poverty need a variety of additional supports. He acknowledged that students who live in high-poverty school districts could benefit from having additional social and emotional supports such as a social worker, therapist, and school psychologist, as well as academic supports like reading interventionists.
Key to the school’s business model are the state’s two tax credit programs that benefit private schools – the Educational Improvement Tax Credit and the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit. Through these programs, Pennsylvania businesses can make contributions to Logos for tuition scholarships – or to other approved scholarship organizations – and receive a 90% tax credit from the state. Anderson acknowledged that all these credits represent funds that are “diverted” away from use by the state.
The school receives more than half of its $3.3 million annual budget via donations through these two tax credit programs from the state. The EITC program allows students from a family of four with an annual household income of $130,710 to qualify.
A recent report noted that these tax credit programs operate with little state oversight. And although the total amount of tax credits and scholarships statewide is capped, legislative leaders have been advocating for significant increases in those caps.