Schools
Plainfield School Board Nixes Online Charter School
One board member went so far as to call K12's proposal to bring a charter school to Plainfield a "money-laundering operation."
As a bill that would put a moratorium on charter schools makes its way through the Illinois legislature, Plainfield officials made their stance clear on Monday, voting against a company’s proposal to bring an online charter school to District 202.
A month after hearing from a representative of for-profit education company K12, District 202 board members voted unanimously to pass a resolution rejecting the company’s proposal to launch Illinois Virtual Charter School @ Fox River Valley.
K12 is partnering with non-profit Virtual Learning Solutions in an effort to bring the online school to 18 area districts, including Plainfield, Oswego and Valley View.
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“The seven people who sit at this table are accountable to the people of Plainfield,” board member Mike Kelly said following the vote. “The people who run K12 are not accountable to anyone.”
In a presentation before the board on March 18, K12 representative Todd Thorpe said the proposed school would receive $8,000 in funding per student — money that would be diverted away from local school districts.
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Board president Roger Bonuchi noted that Thorpe deferred numerous questions, saying he would have to get more information before answering. According to Bonuchi, Thorpe was given a March 22 deadline to come back to the district with the answers.
“For the record, neither the administration nor the board received responses from the Illinois virtual charter school,” Bonuchi said, adding the district had other reasons for rejecting K12’s proposal — including the fact that the proposed school violates several statutes governing charter schools in Illinois.
Despite being pitched as a non-profit school, “It would essentially be for-profit,” and would amount to in-home education, both violations of charter school law, Bonuchi said.
There was also no evidence of public support for the charter school — another requirement, he noted — and would not be in the best interest of District 202 or its students, Bonuchi added.
“It was definitely for-profit,” board member Eric Gallt said. “They tried to put a money-laundering operation together to get it through.”
Board member Rod Westfall again expressed disappointment in K12’s presentation during the March 18 public hearing.
“They came here and they were totally unprepared,” he said. “Their graduation rates were pathetic … I was quoted as saying [the presentation] was pathetic and you’re damn right it was.”
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Glenn Wood said the district must submit a report including the newly passed resolution to the state within seven days.
K12 will then have 30 days to appeal the decision with the Illinois State Charter School Commission. At that point, according to Wood, the commission would set a date for a public meeting to hear the appeal.
The appeal process may be unnceccessary if state lawmakers approve the proposed one-year moratorium. The bill, co-sponsored by State Reps. Linda Chapa Lavia (D-Aurora) and Kay Hatcher (R-Yorkville), could soon go before the House for a vote.
Read more:
- State Stepping in to Delay Virtual Online Learning
- Critics Sound Off on Plainfield Charter School Proposal
- Letter: Forums Put K12 Virtual Charter School in False Light
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