Colorado’s constitution forbids spending taxpayer dollars on religious education, yet hundreds of students are attending religious schools with state funding.
Two years ago, the tiny Vilas School District in southeastern Colorado approved a new charter school, Hope Co-Op Online Learning Academy, that quickly blossomed into 81 learning centers across the state. Half the centers are hosted by faith-based groups, including 21 religious schools. The Post learned this fall that hundreds of students were attending religious schools with state taxpayer money.
Some lawmakers are crying foul, calling the school a back-door voucher program. The ongoing saga of Hope certainly raises some interesting questions that need to be addressed by the state, including: Who’s in charge here?
Hope President Heather O’Mara responded recently with a new “guidelines and oversight” plan to bring all 81 learning centers that have contracts with Hope into compliance with laws on church-state separation. She also said her plan makes the charter school more accountable to local districts.
We’re glad Hope is taking steps to address the issue because a lack of accountability has emerged as one of the biggest problems with online charter schools. When problems first came to light, no one claimed responsibility. State education officials said Colorado’s local control laws kept them from investigating while the Vilas district said the board wasn’t keeping tabs on Hope’s finances. “If they are spending this money wrong or something, I’ll check on it and see what’s going on,” said school board Vice President Ed Kinslow.
Hope has about 3,800 students this year. Vilas receives $5,865 in state funding per student. A portion goes to the district and Hope gets a share, with $3,577 per student going to the learning centers.
Hope students attend centers across Colorado where they work on computers using Hope’s online curriculum.
Hope’s effort to clean up its own mess is obviously a matter of survival for the school. A state audit of online schools will be released next week.
Online learning is a new venture, and Hope’s program may very well have merits. Its enrollment boomed in just its second year.
But there needs to be greater control and accountability somewhere along the chain of command. We’d welcome the state legislature weighing in next year to clarify matters.
