Classroom Technology

Tenn. Fears ‘Virtual School’ May Drain Taxpayer Funds

By Richard Locker, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn. (MCT) — July 25, 2011 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

State officials are anxious to see how many students across Tennessee enroll in a public “virtual school” run by a for-profit Virginia company—and how much state taxpayer money automatically follows them.

Sales teams for K12 Inc. on Friday completed a two-week sales blitz, holding information meetings in a dozen towns and cities for families interested in the new Tennessee Virtual Academy.

Enrollment deadline for the new school year is today. Corporate spokesman Jeff Kwitowski said Friday he didn’t have enrollment numbers yet, but that “interest is high. Demand for online public schools is strong in Tennessee as it is in every state.”

Critics say K12 Inc., whose lobbyists pushed a virtual-school bill through to passage in the closing minutes of the state legislature in May, doesn’t have to pay for school buildings, libraries, buses and ball fields.

But for each student enrolled, the state is obligated to send at least $5,387 to Union County Public Schools, the small rural district northeast of Knoxville that rushed to contract with K12 to operate the new virtual school. That includes home-schooled students expected to take advantage of the free textbooks and other supplies offered by the virtual school.

Union County has not publicly released the contract, but Kwitowski said the school districts usually keep about 4 percent of per-pupil funding; the rest flows to the contractor.

K12 Inc. compensated its CEO more than $2.6 million last year, its chief financial officer more than $1.7 million, and other top executives several hundred thousand dollars each, according to its latest annual report to shareholders.

Although the virtual academy is a Union County public school under the new state law, it’s open to kindergarten through eighth-grade students from Memphis to Mountain City.

The new Republican majority approved the “virtual school act” May 21 despite warnings that it would let for-profit companies recruit hundreds or thousands of children across the state and siphon off taxpayer funding.

Even Republican Rep. Bill Dunn of Knoxville, who home-schooled his children and favored the virtual-school concept, voiced concern during committee hearings about the open-ended entitlement to state money the bill established, particularly for home-schoolers not currently enrolled in public schools and who pay for their courses and supplies.

Dunn said he expected a district and its contractor to heavily recruit home-schoolers and others to a new tuition-free online school. “We have to watch out for the taxpayers. There’s some very entrepreneurial people out there who see every child as (a source of funds) and ask what do we need to do to get that money to flow,” he said.

That scenario unfolded more quickly than Dunn and Democratic opponents of the bill envisioned. K12 Inc. is also promoting the academy through advertising and its Facebook site, where it talks up the boxloads of school supplies and, in some cases, new computers, that enrollees are sent by courier.

Gov. Bill Haslam, who signed the bill into law in June, said last week that he’s just now learning its full impact.

“I’m growing increasingly familiar with it. It’s something I want to understand the ramifications a lot better. I understand how (virtual education) could be very beneficial; you could offer subjects that aren’t offered other places. But I do think we have to think through the consequences a little bit more than we’ve done so far.”

Stephen Smith of the state Department of Education said the bill contains no cap on enrollment or funding. “This is new ground and I think it’s something everyone is going to take a close look at.”

State Sen. Roy Herron, D-Dresden, who fought the bill, says he anticipated what has happened. “Among the many attacks on teachers and our schools last session, this could be the most damaging to our children and to taxpayers and to our schools. It’s going to be an enormous transfer of taxpayer dollars from the state and the only question is how much of the pie is absorbed by the out-of-state for-profit company and how much by one single county.”

Related Tags:

Copyright (c) 2011, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Classroom Technology Reports Technology and Student Well-Being: 10 Charts
The EdWeek Research Center surveyed educators to learn about their views and experiences regarding the impact of technology on students.
Classroom Technology From Our Research Center Kids Turn to TikTok for Mental Health Diagnoses. What Should Schools Know?
Nearly two-thirds of educators say students “sometimes” or “frequently” use social media to diagnose their own mental health conditions.
8 min read
Brightly colored custom illustration of a young depressed female sitting inside of a chat bubble and looking at a laptop with her head in her hand while there is another chat bubble with the ellipsis as if someone is typing something to her. Digital and techie textures applied to the background.
Taylor Callery for Education Week
Classroom Technology From Our Research Center Most Teens Think AI Won't Hurt Their Mental Health. Teachers Disagree
Teens and educators have wildly different perspectives on what AI will mean for young people’s mental health.
7 min read
Brightly colored custom illustration showing a young male looking at a phone. His mind is being completely distorted in the process with a pixelated digital texture.
Taylor Callery for Education Week
Classroom Technology 'The Backlash on AI Is Coming': 3 Early Lessons for K-12 Education
State education chiefs must figure out how to make the most of AI’s potential while steering around its problems.
3 min read
USmap ai states 535889663 02
Laura Baker/Education Week with iStock/Getty