Conventional wisdom for a newly elected state representative goes something like this: “Do a lot of listening, but don’t do a lot of talking.”

In any organization that relies heavily on seniority, such as the state House of Representatives or the state Senate, veteran legislators don’t appreciate being upstaged by newcomers. They also don’t go for being accused of taking graft.

Tarah Probst, the former Democratic mayor of Stroudsburg, who is now serving her first term as representative of the 189th District that includes parts of Monroe and Pike counties, raised more than a few eyebrows last month by her no-holds-barred condemnation of the practices of the state’s charter and cyber schools and of the politicians who have allowed them to proliferate and prosper with little regulation.

Calling it “charter/cyber thievery,” Probst delivered her blistering remarks before a House Democratic Policy Committee meeting on charter school reimbursements.

This contentious issue has been growing more controversial each year, because public schools are being asked to pony up more and more money. Probst said, for example, that the Stroudsburg Area School District, which five years ago had been paying $3 million to these schools, is now paying three times that much.

“They are robbing us blind,’’ said Probst, who contends that it has gone largely unnoticed in the last decade. I question whether it has gone unnoticed. Heck, all you have to do is talk to any of our frustrated local superintendents of school, and all of them will point to the funding of charter/cyber schools as one of the toughest budgetary line items which with they must contend annually.

Probst contends that many legislators, especially those who champion school choice, are complicit in the problem and charged that some have been “lining their pockets” in their support of these schools by refusing to consider or pass corrective legislation.

Probst said she seeks a level playing field when it comes to these schools. “All schools should have the same rules,” she said in her 3½-minute remarks before the policy committee.

If they did, she claims that millions of dollars would remain with public school districts, amounts so significant that they could eliminate tax hikes, possibly even result in rebates to taxpayers.

Aside from siphoning money from the public schools, charter and cyber schools are not getting it done when it comes to educating children, Probst charged. She cited statistics which show low graduation rates compared to their public school counterparts.

She also questioned huge advertising expenditures to entice prospective students to enroll. She claims that charter and cyber schools spent enormous sums on TV advertising. “If our public schools spent $35 million on TV advertising, can you imagine the outrage?’’ she asked.

“You can’t be ripping off the public schools the way you’ve been doing,”’ she added. “I am disgusted by the practices of cyber/charter schools.”

Of course, charter and cyber school advocates have a much different take on why these schools have become so popular since school choice became available during the last 40 years or so.

According to the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools, charter schools are not anti-traditional. “They are pro-children and have as their core a fundamental principle: One size does not fit all. Instead of fitting the child to the school, parents want the school to fit the child,” the coalition said, contending that the “one size fits all” approach of traditional public schools has resulted in students losing interest in learning and becoming bored, frustrated and disappointed with their school experiences. “That is not a good formula for being happy or having an engaging academic experience,” the coalition said.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.