About 700 area high school students take online classes, but without the state’s financial help these courses could face major cuts.
After a 200 percent increase in online course enrollment since the 2007-08 school year, Mia Burroughs, vice chairwoman of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education, said the board will consider online course restrictions at its meeting Thursday before voting on the measure March 3.
Burroughs said these restrictions could include limiting the number of classes and the number of students allowed to enroll in North Carolina Virtual Public School.
Initially online classes were free for public schools, said district spokeswoman Stephanie Knott. But last year the state Board of Education began charging districts to access online services.
Kelly Batten, principal of Carrboro High School, said he doesn’t know how the district will account for increased demand while suffering funding shortages, especially when the state does not allow the district to charge students for classes or textbooks.
“We have a responsibility as a public school to be economically frugal and fiscally responsible,” he said.
Last year, online classes cost the district $252,000 — about $355 per student enrolled in the program. While the district pays for the actual class, individual schools are required to buy textbooks and other materials needed for the classes.
But Cathy Davis, a guidance counselor at Carrboro High, said online classes offer students the opportunity to take specialty classes they couldn’t take otherwise, like digital photography and Mandarin Chinese.
“Kids that are signing up for online classes — they are committed,” she said. “They are the kids you can trust to work on their assignments independently.”
