It’s not uncommon for audits to say public school districts are holding too much in reserve funds – essentially taking too much in taxes to pay the expenses they carry.

What happened to cyber charter schools as part of the state’s 2025-26 budget agreement, then, could realistically be considered a case of what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Lawmakers agreed to a change in charter school funding formulas used to reimburse cyber charter schools, aiming to better reflect the actual costs of their operations. The reforms are designed to increase accountability for publicly funded cyber charters, with a focus on ensuring money is spent on education and has stricter rules for enrollment and instruction. The formula changes are expected to save public school districts a projected $178 million in the coming year, though cyber charter school administrators estimate the loss in funding to be closer to $300 million.

Some are concerned the state has gone too far and that the loss of funding from local school districts to cyber charters will end up forcing some cyber charters to close. But there is a flip side to that coin that cyber charter officials must realize – many public schools are in worse financial shape than the cyber charters.

As we’ve noted before, Warren County had to make an unpopular but necessary decision to close two high schools because the county’s declining population and tax base made keeping four high schools open impossible. Cyber charters with means will continue to exist and thrive. Cyber charters that struggle financially will face the same choice the Warren County School District Board of Education faced earlier this year.

In our view the budget agreement strikes a fair compromise. Cyber charters that are banking large reserves each year aren’t facing the type of budgetary pressures smaller, rural school districts are facing. Parents should have school choice – but that choice shouldn’t break the bank for taxpayers either.