The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board may be left in a bind this upcoming school year due to unclear language in the bill that created it.
The bill calls for the State Department of Education to provide staffing until the end of this year but gives no indication as to whether the board has the authority to hire new staff or contract with the department for its current staff thereafter.
Moreover, the board faces the challenge of being unable to finance the virtual charters it sponsors starting next month because of its lack of a financial account. SDE General Counsel Kim Richey told board members Tuesday the department has sought to separate their financial accounts from the board’s due to their own statutory requirements.
State Department of Education officials in the past have requested the agency be held to stringent financial accountability, much like public schools, but have requested the board do so independently from SDE.
