2ND UPDATE: 'Virtual' Charter School Was Not Informed of Monday Night's Public Hearing

Illinois Virtual Charter School @ Fox River Valley was supposed to present an online alternative to a public-school education Monday night during a public hearing at the Geneva School Board meeting.

The problem is, nobody from the charter school showed up to make a case.

"Are they going to do it virtually?" School Board member Matt Henry asked.

So instead of a formal presentation and question-and-answer period, what followed was several statements of disappointment and some virtual bashing of the company, from board members as well as public commenters.

"I have many questions, but unfortunately, there’s no one here to ask," board member Mary Stith said.

"I could pull out a chair and do something like Clint Eastwood's speech at the Republican convention, but since they’re not here, I'll take a pass," board member Mike McCormick said.

But a representative of the charter school said by e-mail late Monday night that the reason no one from Virtual Learning Solutions attended is that no one was told the public hearing was to take place.

"We just learned that Geneva CUSD 304 held their public hearing tonight on the application," said Randall Greenway, who said he has been working with the company regarding the Fox Valley process. "Unfortunately, we did not receive notice about the meeting."

The charter school would include Geneva School District 304 and 17 other Fox Valley districts, including Batavia School District 101 and St. Charles School District 303.

"We have currently heard by mail, phone and/or email from 12 of the 18 school districts about the date/time/location of their meetings. In addition to the direct lines of communication we have been diligently checking the papers for the notice of public hearing. We regret that we did not have the opportunity to present at tonight’s meeting in Geneva. We will be contacting (Geneva Superintendent Dr. Kent) Mutchler in the morning to offer to meet with him, his administration and the board to answer any questions they may have about the application."

Funding for the charter school would come by transferring the per-pupil expenditure tuition from the public school. Geneva officials said Monday night that the total would be in the range of $10,000 to $12,000 per pupil.

And that was one of the issues that concerned Geneva School Board members.

"I have a problem with it, if it means diverting our funds," Stith said.

From the reading she did online, Stith said the company has a spotty performance record in the state of New York and elsewhere.

"It’s not a pretty picture across the country," she said. "The (test) scores are not looking good, the cost is not looking good."

From the audience, Chris Bourdage of the TaxFACTS citizens group said she was concerned about the cost for special-education students, which she said could be as much as $60,000 per student for the school district's portion of the cost.

"I am pro online schools, but on the surface Virtual Learning Solutions doesn’t look like the right fit," she said. "It seems like a lot of the background information is sketchy." 

But Bob McQuillan, also of the TaxFACTS group and a candidate for mayor, questioned whether VLS had been notified of the date of the public hearing and asked that their representatives be invited back for another public meeting.

"Clearly the board is uninformed," he said. "I would suggest the board and VLS set an agreeable date to get together so that the questions you have and that people have can be answered."

According to the charter school application, the 18 Fox Valley school districts—which serve more than 250,000 students in grades K-12—will have an option to jointly issue the charter, but "if any of the school districts denies the application, the proposal will be appealed to the State Charter School Commission."

If approved, the school would open in August for the 2013-14 school year.

Organizers describe the virtual school as "a 21st-century learning community focused on results."

"The ILVCS@FRV team of hard-working, highly qualified staff, in partnership with parents, will strive for student mastery of a rigorous, research-based curriculum aligned to Illinois’ Learning Standards, including the Common Core State Standards," according to the application's overview.

"Delivered on- and offline, this unique program will put public school accountability, teacher competence, and meaningful parent/adult involvement at the center of student learning.

"ILVCS@FRV will provide a high-quality, innovative, and effective individualized online charter school education to students who, for a variety of reasons, choose to be educated in an online school setting."

The Fox Valley schools would partner with K12 Virtual Schools LLC (K12), which provides online education to 100,000 students "in distance learning programs in all 50 states." 

The charter school hopes to have 500 students in its first year and 2,000 by the fifth year of its five-year charter.

The charter school offers curriculum for all students, including gifted students and students with a disability. For students in the latter category, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meeting is set up upon enrollment with the appropriate team members in attendance.

Read the full charter-school report here.

Districts Targeted for a Fox River Valley Region

1. School District U-46
2. Indian Prairie School District 204
3. Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202
4. Community Unit School District 300
5. Valley View Community Unit School District 365U
6. Naperville Community Unit School District 203
7. Oswego Community Unit School District 308
8. East Aurora School District 131
9. St. Charles Community Unit School District 303
10. Community Unit School District 200
11. West Aurora School District 129
12. Batavia Public School District 101
13. Geneva Community Unit School District 304
14. DeKalb Community Unit School District 428
15. Yorkville Community Unit School District 115
16. Kaneland Community Unit School District 302
17. Sycamore Community Unit School District 427
18. Central Community Unit School District 301

What do you think of the idea? Let us know in the comments section below.