D303 Board Faces Decision on Virtual Charter School

A contentious proposal that would have the St. Charles school district pay $8,800 per student to fund an 18-district virtual charter school could be voted on tonight as the local board of education considers the plan for which local officials say they cannot make a recommendation.

“Too many questions are left unanswered by Virtual Learning Solutions in regard to the proposal for the Administration to offer a recommendation,” reads the recommendation included in the agenda packet for tonight’s St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 Board of Education meeting.

The board meets at 7 p.m. in the Board Room of the Administration Center, 201 S. 7th St.

The proposal has drawn skepticism from both the administration and the board of education, which in turn prompted a 1,080-page response late last week from Virtual Learning Solutions, the nonprofit organization that is spearheading the virtual charter school plan.

“Online learning has the potential to transform teaching and learning by redesigning traditional classroom instructional approaches, personalizing instruction and enhancing the quality of learning experiences,” reads the conclusion of the Virtual Learning Solutions response. “The preliminary research shows promise for online learning as an effective alternative for improving student performance across diverse groups of students.”

The document sets out to be a point-by-point response to the questions raised by each of the 18 school districts that have been asked to consider the Virtual Learning Solutions proposal.

The questions are varied, focusing on a range of concerns from the quality of the education that would be offered via a school with no physical classrooms to the mingling of public funds for the payment of a for-profit company to educate local students.

While Virtual Learning Solutions is a nonprofit entity, under its proposal it would contract with K12 to educate the students. K12 is the nation’s largest virtual school company, operating 48 full-time virtual schools as of July 2012.

The proposal also has proven a campaign issue among the candidates for four St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 Board of Education seats at stake in Tuesday’s election.

Dr. Donald Schlomann, District 303’s superintendent, said the virtual charter school proposal raised a number of reasons to proceed cautiously. The proposal seeks support from 18 school districts — covering communities that range from Carpentersville in the north to Bolingbrook and Plainfield in the south, and from DeKalb in the west to Wheaton in the east.

The state law providing the establishment of charter schools also allows the charter school to be reimbursed on a per-student basis by the participating school district. By statute, that cost ranges from about 75 percent to as much as 125 percent of the average amount the district spends to educate each of its students.

Schlomann said earlier that Virtual Learning Solutions is asking District 303 for about $8,800 per student, or about 88 percent of the $11,400 the district spends to educate its students.

Under Illinois law, the St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 Board of Education has until about mid-April to make its decision on the proposal, although the board is expected to vote tonight on whether to accept or reject the plan.

Should the board reject Virtual Learning Solutions’ charter school application, the applicant may appeal to the state to overturn the board’s decision. If the state does that, Schlomann said earlier, the school district’s only recourse would be through the courts.

Related:

• Report to the District 303 board: Virtual Learning Solutions Proposal Review
• April 6, 2013:
• March 24, 2013: D303 Approaching Virtual Charter School With Caution
• March 20, 2013: Letter: Forums Put K12 Virtual Charter School in False Light
• March 18, 2013: Letter: Ask Your School Board to 'Vote No' Against Online Charter School
• March 14, 2013: K12 Virtual Charter School Under Heavy Fire by Illinois Jobs Activists
• March 12, 2013: Fox Valley Charter School Controversy: K12 Disputes Grade Tampering Reports

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