Board OKs Contract For Online Course Offerings

The Wednesday approved a contract for a company to provide online courses for a Hybrid Academy planned for the new school year.

And the district has already begun community outreach in its attempt to lure some of the 63 township youngsters who get their high school education through online courses, in the process, save the district some money.

The contract is with VLN Partners, of Pittsburgh, which is not the firm district officials first publicly discussed in June, Brandywine Virtual Academy.

Superintendent Bill Gretzula told Patch that Virtual Learning Network approached the district after that discussion and offered a similarly priced program that offers 78 courses aligned with Pennsylvania or common course standards. Moreover, he said, courses can be customized to align to Bensalem High's curriculum.

Whereas, the district now spends $10,475 annually for each cyber student, the VLN program would cost the district $4,850 per student in the first year. After that, he said, the cost could rise depending upon the level of customization, plus there would be a $16,750 annual district fee.

Gretzula said the contract renews annually, with a 45-day opt-out.

District officials previously explained that students would be offered the flexibility of taking some courses online while taking others at the high school.

The board approved the contract on a 7-0-1 vote, with Ralph Douglass abstaining. He said he is concerned the board, which had just been given a presentation from VLN at a committee meeting before Wednesday's regular meeting, did not have enough input. Sherri Underwood was absent from the meeting.

Bensalem is the first Bucks County district to hire VLN, said Gretzula. But the firm listed 14 Pennsylvania districts as clients in its presentation to board committee members.