The Stanley-Boyd School District is now an invested member of the Rural Virtual Academy (RVA), a public charter school based in Medford, approving a contract to that end at its regular December board …
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The Stanley-Boyd School District is now an invested member of the Rural Virtual Academy (RVA), a public charter school based in Medford, approving a contract to that end at its regular December board meeting. The $45,000 contract for invested membership was approved with a motion by board member Denise Hoffstatter seconded by Bob Geist.
“RVA we feel is a better quality education than a lot of the other virtual programs out there,” District Superintendent Jeff Koenig said prior to the vote. Previously an affiliate member of RVA, the district currently has nine students enrolled in the public charter school, for which it is charged.
“Currently we have nine students that are full-time enrollees in RVA,” Koenig said of the program. District students enrolled in RVA remain Stanley-Boyd students and are able to enroll in district sports and other programs under the contract, the district charged $7,602 for RVA students rather than $10,102 for normal open enrollment spaces.
The new $45,000 contract for invested RVA membership meanwhile represents a cost drop of $27,000 for the district, down from $72,000 for RVA affiliate membership. The savings is greater when compared against open enrolled RVA students, with the district cost for invested membership offset by revenue generation.
“The difference between being an invested member versus an affiliate partner is that there is revenue generated from the other schools and the other students around the state that enroll around the state to RVA,” Koenig said. “What that would do is lower some of our costs by being an invested partner instead of just getting reduced cost.”
Board member Chad Verbeten summed up the program as he saw it.
“The students benefit because it gives them another learning opportunity,” he said. “The other benefit is they remain part of our school district. We get a financial benefit as well. It seems like an easy decision to make.”
