Tomah Journal - Printable Version

Story originally printed in the Tomah Journal or online at www.tomahjournal.com

Published - Sunday, January 13, 2008

Editorial: Virtual schools questionable recipients of public dollars

Do virtual schools have a legitimate claim on Wisconsin tax dollars?

That’s the basic question before policymakers after an appellate court ruled that Wisconsin Virtual Academy isn’t eligible for state funds under Wisconsin’s public school open enrollment program. The court last month ruled that Wisconsin Virtual Academy is ineligible for open enrollment funds because it operates mainly out of students’ homes and uses parents as its primary educators. The court said that violates statutes regarding teacher certification, charter schools and open enrollment.

The case involving Wisconsin Virtual Academy, which is just four years old, raises many questions:

* How is virtual education distinguishable from home schooling? Parents who choose traditional home schooling don’t get open-enrollment reimbursement, so why should parents who choose a virtual school be any different? An arrangement in which a child sits in front of a computer in the family den strains the definition of “public” education.

* How “public” is a virtual school? Wisconsin Virtual Academy is a collaboration between the Northern Ozaukee School District and K12 Inc., an online learning company launched by former Education Secretary Bill Bennett. Unlike public schools, where teachers develop curriculum that’s subject to review by the local school board, Wisconsin Virtual Academy get its curriculum from K12 Inc., which sells it to parents for about $1,200 per year.

* What’s the impact on public school finance? The handful of school districts that have opened virtual schools are reaping fiscal bonanzas as the expense of nearly every school district in the state. The Northern Ozaukee School District, for example, hauled in $3.6 million worth of open enrollment money through Wisconsin Virtual Academy. The Tomah School District, meanwhile, lost 10 students to virtual schools last year, which cost the district $58,000. Does this give school districts an incentive to create virtual schools based on financial, not educational, criteria?

If private companies like K12 Inc. want to set up private computer-based home schools and charge tuition, then more power to them. But that doesn’t mean such schools, whether public, quasi-public or private, should get public money. Virtual schools look more like get-rich-quick schemes for a few school districts that got into the game early than a new and better way to educate kids. They need a longer, better and more public track record before they can lay claim to public funds.