Florida Virtual School Strives To Stem Budget Cuts

The mention in Tallahassee this week of budget cuts that could impact the Florida Virtual School has students, parents and administrators circling the laptops and looking for ways to maintain the level of service.

The school doesn't have brick walls, blackboards or long hallways with numbered doors, but it is as large as some school districts in Florida, with about 80,000 students from across the state attending classes in front of computer screens.

The virtual school, based in Orlando, exists in cyberspace and is linked by real time sixth-grade through 12th-grade classes over the computer. The award-winning school is home to students from every county in the state and some from outside Florida.

It supplements classes taken by public school students and provides the educational structure needed for home-schooled students.

But Florida legislators, trying to trim budgets wherever they can, have set their sights on the virtual school. A Senate appropriations committee recently proposed an 11 percent budget cut, and a House committee is considering even higher cuts.

Julie Young, the school's president and executive officer, is in Tallahassee this week trying to stem the potential blood loss and to advocate for the school. She said the worst-case scenario could mean a cut of about 20 percent for the school, which now has an annual operations budget of about $100 million.

Almost all of the school's funding comes from the state. Out-of-state districts pay a small subscription fee.

"It's the third day here thus far, and everything is a moving target," Young said. "It's the beginning of the process. Obviously, there are only so many dollars to go around, and everyone wants the ones that are there."

Some legislators want the virtual school to offer only core courses. If state funding follows that suggestion, that could mean a 20 to 30 percent reduction in courses and teachers.

"That would be a tremendous loss," she said. "It would have a huge impact."

A Senate appropriations committee has discussed cutting 11 percent from the virtual school budget. A House committee is considering a 15 percent cut, she said.

"We're hopeful there will be a compromise," she said. In any event, some sort of cut is likely. "All of that remains to be seen."

Cuts will mean changes in service, although the school doesn't want to alter the quality of education offered students across the state and beyond, she said.

"We are looking at all kinds of alternatives to maintain that quality," she said.

Robin Ward of Carrollwood has raised five children, all of whom have attended classes through the Florida Virtual School. Her oldest is an engineering student at the University of South Florida on an academic scholarship. Another is enrolled at Hillsborough Community College. Three younger daughters are being home-schooled and are taking courses online.

Ward is a hard-core believer in the online education system offered by the school.

"I give a lot of thanks to the virtual school," she said. One of her daughters was even able to take Chinese through the school, something she might not have been able to learn in public school.

"The teachers are good," Ward said. "I've never seen such good teachers in all my life. I've talked to them more than I've ever been able to communicate in brick and mortar school teachers." She said she has conferences with her children's teachers once a week.

If her children have any problems, "They just pick up the phone and a teacher is right there, working with them. I've never seen it fail."

Ward's 16-year-old daughter, Christine, is a virtual school student. "It's absolutely excellent," she said. "I am a full-time home-school student, and I take all my classes through FLVS."

She started two years ago and never looked back. "It's amazing, really."

ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The Florida Virtual School was founded 12 years ago. Here are some facts, according to the school's Web site:

*Sixty-six percent of the 2007-08 enrollment of about 56,600 students was attending public or charter schools. When the school opened in 1997, 77 students were enrolled.

*Twenty-seven percent of students in 2007-08 were home-school students.

*There are 722 full-time employees, 400 of whom are certified teachers.

*The school offers more than 90 courses, including core subjects, foreign languages, electives, honors and 10 Advanced Placement courses.

*Besides offering courses to students in Florida, the school offers classes to paying customers in Wisconsin, New Jersey, West Virginia, Alabama and Ohio.

*Hillsborough County students represent 7 percent of the school's enrollment. Orange County has the highest enrollment in the state at 9 percent.