Ball State University has lost its opportunity to sponsor two Indiana virtual charter schools, as the Indiana General Assembly voted not to grant the schools $21 million in education funding. The schools are exploring alternative funding options.
The Muncie-based Indiana Connections Academy and Indianapolis-based Indiana Virtual Charter School were set to open in the fall with a combined enrollment of about 2,200 students said Larry Gabbert, director of the Ball State Office of Charter Schools. However, on April 29, the last day of the 2007 legislative session, the assembly placed a two-year moratorium on funding for virtual charter schools, giving Indiana the opportunity to further explore the pros and cons of the schools. The schools still have the option to open and operate as private schools if they receive funding from alternative outlets.
Ball State sponsors 19 charter schools in Indiana, but the ICA and IVCS would be the first K-12 virtual charter schools in the state. In order to receive Ball State's sponsorship, the schools had to have their enrollment deadlines and curriculum approved by the office of charter schools. Virtual charter schools give students the opportunity to receive most of their instruction online, with some face-to-face instruction involved, whether via Web cam, field trips or scheduled meetings, Gabbert said.
"We have 1,500 kids around the state who are disappointed and angry that our school was closed down by the General Assembly," Ron Brumbarger, CEO of the Indiana Virtual Charter School, said.
Dan Clark, deputy director for programs at the Indiana Teachers Association, said the ITA opposed state funding of the schools because it was uncertain how much the schools would cost and how a proper amount of funding would be determined.
"Because these [schools] were going to be operated by for-profit companies, we thought the public had the right to know how much profit they would make off of the tax payers," he said. Clark said he blames Ball State for misleading virtual charter school students by declaring its sponsorship of the two schools before the general assembly decided whether it would allocate money for them.
Charles Zogby, vice president of K12, an Ohio education company, said he was surprised when the General Assembly denied funding to the schools. K12 is in charge of setting up curriculum for the IVCS.
"We were operating under the belief that these schools were legal and permissible," he said, referencing a 2005 amendment to the Indiana charter school law allowing virtual charter schools.
Gabbert said much of the controversy regarding the schools arose because no one is sure whether virtual charter schools should receive the same amount of money per student as traditional public schools.
"We wanted to look at these very complex issues like funding," he said. "Now, [the General Assembly] is able to study these issues so that when we come back to the table in a couple years, everyone is more informed."
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