ONLINE SCHOOL FUNDS COULD GO BACK TO STATE

By Chris Cook - Forks Forum editor

The Quillayute Valley School District (QVSD) is facing possible repayment of up to $1.25 million due to what the state auditor sees as improper documentation of online students.

A report in the Thursday edition of the Tacoma News Tribune said the state auditor is claiming that three school districts that oversee online education programs failed to properly document student learning activities during the 2006-2007 school year.
The findings come from an independent audit ordered by the Legislature.

QVSD Superintendent Diana Reaume told the Forks Forum Thursday afternoon that Insight School of Washington (Insight), the private company that runs an online school overseen by the QVSD, would be responsible for repaying the funds to the state because the company received the funds, if any funds are required to be paid back.

No matter the final resolution of the audit, “It won’t take away from students in Forks,” Reaume said.

She said a final decision on whether or not the school districts would be required to pay back the funds rests with the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction in Olympia. “It’s hard to tell what they will do” at this point, Reaume said.
The three school districts – QVSD plus Federal Way and Steilacoom – receive funding from state education coffers and levy taxes for the virtual students based on the number of students enrolled in the online, no-tuition alternative learning program.

For fiscal year 2008 that amount was $4,900 per full-time equivalent student, and QVSD reports released by the state Auditor’s Office on Nov. 26, has a response written by Reaume that includes a chart showing the auditor’s concern have been addressed over the 2007-2008 school year. Release of the completed audit followed a meeting with QVSD and officials of the other two school districts in late October.

The audit covers school year 2006-2007, the first year that the QVSD oversaw students from Insight School of Washington.
The Legislature passed a law in 2005 that gave school districts the go-ahead to offer alternative learning experiences through online classes taught over the Internet.

Insight is now owned by the parent company of University of Phoenix, the online college degree giant.

Frank Walter, who proceeded Reaume as QVSD Superintendent, left the school district for an administrative position with Insight in the summer of 2007. Walter was QVSD Superintendent for the 2006-2007 school year, and is now principal of Insight’s online high school.

The audit concludes that the three school districts should obtain additional training in documentation requirements for Internet programs, and “the Legislature should evaluate whether current law provides sufficient guidance to meet state intent in the operation of Internet programs.”

In Reaume’s response to the audit, published on QVSD letterhead in an appendix to the auditor’s report, she addresses the problems found.

They include: student learning plans, monthly progress reviews, student contact with instructors and unsatisfactory student progress reporting.

“Starting up and operating a school with a unique set of rules poses particular challenges in record keeping and reporting, which we are now confronting,” Reaume writes in the QVSD response to the state auditor.

The letter states that the online program launched on Sept. 12, 2006 after nine months of “intense preparation.”
“The district’s online high school has matured during the last two years,” Reaume adds. “Significant improvements in system tools and a better understanding of the accountability requirements have given us confidence that we are compliant in subsequent enrollment periods.”

One point made in the audit that the QVSD is questioning is the counting of Insight students by auditors beginning prior to the official opening of the online school. The letter states that the Insight school started about a week after Forks High School on Sept. 7, 2006, yet the auditor made a count on Sept. 11.

The auditor claims the study is statistically accurate, but looked at the records of less than two dozen students out of a statewide, online Insight student body of about 700 students, choosing the students at random.
“We now realize the counts for Insight School of Washington should have occurred separately, and have made this correction,” the QVSD response says.

Technical problems also caused problems in the first year of Insight School, with online instructors losing proof of student-teacher contact and required reports due to laptop technical problems.

Reaume said the online school serves as an alternative school for a wide variety of students. “For many, it’s their only hope of obtaining a high school diploma, brick and mortar schools didn’t work for them.” Insight students earning a high school diploma online through the QVSD include single mothers, a student with severe diabetes, a performing ballerina who attends practice during the day.

She said the audit response won’t affect the proposed issuance of school bonds to pay for a second phase of construction at Forks High School. The measure failed in the general election in early November, but will likely be on the same ballot as the two-year QVSD Operation and Maintenance.

The availability of over $7 million in state matching construction funds due to the high enrollment in QVSD is a key point for proponents of the school bond funding. The high amount is due to the addition of over 1,000 Insight students from across the state to the QVSD student count. Without the Insight students, the matching funds would total about $1.5 million for a project with a price tag of about $18 million.

On the Web: www.sao.wa.gov. On the Audit Report page search for report 75118, which was released on Nov. 26.