Your Tax Dollars Built Commonwealth Charter Academy's Empire and You Deserve to See Where Every Penny Went

We've been fighting Commonwealth Charter Academy's (CCA) wall of secrecy for many months, and what we've uncovered so far should outrage every Pennsylvania taxpayer. CCA has fought us at every turn, appealed every ruling, and continues to lose in court – all while burning through your tax dollars to keep you in the dark about how they've burned through your tax dollars.

What We've Discovered While CCA Fought Us in Court

While Commonwealth Charter Academy's lawyers have been busy filing appeal after appeal, we've been piecing together the scope of their financial empire. Here's what your tax money has been funding:

A Real Estate Empire Worth Questioning: CCA owns 35 locations after purchasing 29 buildings since 2018 for $88.7 million. Those same properties are assessed at only $43.1 million. Your tax dollars paid nearly double what these properties are actually worth. Among their acquisitions? A redeveloped office complex near Pittsburgh that used to be a Macy's. We're still waiting to understand the educational value of a former department store.

An Advertising Machine That Rivals Major Corporations: In 2022 alone, CCA spent $8.9 million of your money on advertising and promotion. To put that in perspective, they spent $8.3 million on advertising in a single year – more than many school districts spend on textbooks, technology, and classroom supplies combined. In just three months (January-March 2022), they burned through $3.4 million on advertising while simultaneously dropping $150,000 on Major League Baseball tickets, catering, parking, and parties.

A Massive Surplus While Schools Struggle: In 2022, CCA took in $397 million in revenue but spent only $274 million. That's a surplus of over $120 million in a single year, while traditional public schools across Pennsylvania face budget cuts and resource shortages.

Every Step of the Way, CCA Has Fought Transparency

We filed straightforward Right-to-Know requests for basic financial documents – contracts, invoices, and memoranda with advertising companies, law firms, and lobbying firms. These aren't trade secrets or student records. These are your tax dollars at work, and you have every right to see how they're spent.

CCA's response? Fight, delay, and obstruct at every opportunity:

• They claimed our requests weren't "specific" enough – despite asking for clearly defined documents like "contracts" and "invoices"

• They appealed to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records – and lost

• They requested extensions due to "staffing limitations" – despite sitting on massive cash reserves that could easily fund proper staffing

• They appealed to Dauphin County Court – continuing to lose while racking up legal fees paid with your tax money

• They refused to provide evidence for their claimed exemptions, leading the Office of Open Records to find they acted in "bad faith"

The Pattern Is Clear: Spend Big, Hide Everything

The spending patterns we've uncovered reveal an organization more focused on empire-building than education:

• $814,718 in mysterious payments coded as "family mentors," with individual payments ranging from $200 to $3,750

• Redacted vendor names in check registers, including $180,000 worth of payments to mystery vendors in June 2024 alone

• $19 million spent on marketing in just the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years

• Luxury vehicle purchases for executives

• Entertainment expenses at venues across Pennsylvania

CCA Keeps Losing in Court – But Keeps Fighting With Your Money

Here's what's particularly galling: Commonwealth Charter Academy has lost every major ruling in this transparency battle. The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records found they acted in bad faith. Courts have ordered them to comply with transparency laws. Yet they continue appealing, continue fighting, and continue spending your tax dollars on legal fees to hide how they spend your tax dollars.

Every month CCA's lawyers delay these records is another month Pennsylvania taxpayers remain in the dark. Every legal fee they pay to hide their spending is another dollar that could have gone to actual education.

Why This Matters to Every Pennsylvania Taxpayer

This isn't just about one school's spending habits – it's about whether publicly funded institutions can operate as private empires beyond public accountability. If CCA successfully shields their spending from public scrutiny, it sets a precedent that other charter schools can follow. It creates two tiers of transparency: rigorous oversight for traditional public schools, and none for charter operations.

You fund Commonwealth Charter Academy through your tax dollars. When they spend $8.9 million on advertising, that's your money. When they buy real estate for nearly double its assessed value, that's your money. When they pay hundreds of thousands in mysterious vendor payments, that's your money.

Our Fight Continues – And We're Winning

Despite CCA's desperate legal resistance, we're making progress. Court after court has sided with transparency over secrecy. The Office of Open Records has found CCA acted in bad faith. The legal precedent is clear: taxpayer-funded institutions must be accountable to taxpayers.

We will continue fighting for your right to know how your tax dollars are spent. We will continue challenging CCA's wall of secrecy. We will continue pushing for the accountability that democracy demands.

What You Can Do

• Stay informed. Follow our work at Rock the Capital as we continue pursuing these records and exposing how your tax dollars are spent. You can sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of any page of this website.

• Demand answers. Contact your state legislators and ask them why publicly funded schools are allowed to hide basic financial information from taxpayers.

• Support transparency. When you see public institutions fighting against transparency, ask why. If they have nothing to hide, why spend hundreds of thousands fighting to hide it?

The Bottom Line

Commonwealth Charter Academy was built with your tax dollars. Their real estate empire was purchased with your money. Their advertising blitz is funded by your taxes. Their legal fight to hide all of this is paid for with your money.

You have every right to see where every penny went. We're fighting to make sure you get that chance – despite CCA's desperate attempts to keep you in the dark.

Transparency isn't optional for publicly funded institutions. It's a requirement of democracy. And we won't stop fighting until Commonwealth Charter Academy finally opens their books to you, the taxpayers who funded them.

Stay tuned with us as we fight for YOU, the tax-paying citizens of Pennsylvania on all sides of the political spectrum!