A cyber charter school that operates statewide plans to open a new location on Montage Mountain next year.
Commonwealth Charter Academy began construction work at its recently purchased three-story building at 53 Glenmaura National Blvd. last fall and anticipates it being completed in mid-2026, Timothy Eller, the school’s chief branding and government relations officer, said in an email this week.
CCA, based in Harrisburg, purchased the former Cigna building in Scranton and Moosic in 2022 for $17.8 million.
Eller said the facility will serve as a location for staff to virtually educate students, and provide support and assistance to students and families. The school plans to use a portion of the first floor and all of the second floor for its operations, while tenants would occupy the third floor and remaining portion of the first floor. The number of employees who will work at the location hasn’t been determined.
The project was expected to cost no more than $28 million, according to a legal notice published last year in The Times-Tribune announcing the opening of construction bids for the site.
CCA’s Family Service Centers, like the one on Montage Mountain, are used for administering state testing, Act 158 graduation requirements and alternate testing, English learner testing, field trips and activities, and career-readiness programming, Eller said. Families can also seek tutoring, technology support or other assistance.
CCA has two Family Service Centers in Northeast Pennsylvania, in Dickson City and Wilkes-Barre Twp., both of which will remain open, he said.
The building’s new use could impact tax revenue, as CCA may seek tax-exempt status once it’s allowed to occupy the site, Eller said. The building being taken off the tax rolls has worried leaders in the Scranton and Riverside school districts, where the property is located, who previously said they would lose tax revenue at the same time their tuition payments to charter schools grow.
Commonwealth Charter Academy’s new building on Montage Mountain in Scranton and Moosic is under construction Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. The school is anticipating the new building will open in mid-2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Commonwealth Charter Academy’s new building on Montage Mountain in Scranton and Moosic is under construction Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. The school is anticipating the new building will open in mid-2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
The property generated about $280,000 in tax revenue for the two districts in 2022. The Scranton parcel was assessed at nearly $1.7 million last year, while the parcel in Moosic was assessed at $200,000.
CCA is expanding operations at a time of increased scrutiny of cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania. School district leaders and leaders on the state level have complained about their cost and have called for reform. Cyber charter schools do not charge families for students to attend; home school districts pay for them to attend.
A performance audit released earlier this year on five cyber charter schools that operate in the state, including CCA, found that from 2020 to 2023, they legally increased revenues by $425 million and reserves by 144%, due in part to what Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy DeFoor said is “an outdated funding formula that does not use actual instruction costs to determine tuition, set guidelines for spending or set limits for cyber charter school reserve funds.”
CCA generated $421 million in revenue in 2023, according to the audit, enrolling 20,000 students that year. CCA enrolls more than 4,200 students and employs more than 550 staff in Northeast Pennsylvania, Eller said.
“As a historically underfunded school with significant need for classroom space, I have to say I’m envious of the amount of funds CCA has to build a brand new facility within the boundaries of the Scranton School District, especially since we have our own thriving Cyber Academy with excellent family engagement,” Scranton School District Superintendent Erin Keating said in an emailed statement. “Our Cyber students also are able to reap all of the benefits the Scranton School District has to offer, including participation in our athletic and extracurricular activities, and all support services offered to our brick and mortar students.”
Riverside Superintendent Paul Brennan said while he supports families making the best decisions for their children, what is left out of the conversation on cyber charter schools is the issue of financial equity and the reasons why some students are enrolling in them in the first place.
“Public schools like ours are held to rigorous standards and are directly accountable to our communities. Yet we’re required to pay cyber charter tuition rates that far exceed the actual cost of online education. That places a real financial strain on districts like Riverside and diverts resources from the students and programs we serve every day,” Brennan said in an email. “While some students do thrive in cyber settings, we also see another reality: for every success story, there are students leaving not for enhanced academic opportunity, but to avoid structure, consistent attendance, or behavioral expectations. That’s not school choice, it’s school avoidance. Our doors remain open to every student, every need, and every challenge. We respect the work that charters do. But when the financial framework isn’t equitable, it creates an uneven playing field — one that often divides rather than unites communities.”
Asked to comment on the financial strain cyber charter schools put on public school districts, Eller said in an email, “public cyber charter schools, by law, are permitted to own and operate facilities. Our staff enjoy and prefer working from and serving students and families at our Family Service Centers, and our students and families have told us they want a high-quality online program that provides local support and resources. CCA remains committed to listening to students, families, and staff and providing the service and support they desire. Perhaps, school districts should be asked why they are unwilling to partner with public cyber charter schools to serve all students and families.”