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District briefs board on Boyertown virtual program: $424,000 operating cost, roughly 139 students last year
Summary
Administration presented figures on the Boyertown Area Virtual program: last year the platform cost about $424,000 and served approximately 139 students; administration said operating the district’s own program saves an estimated amount compared with outwardly placing students in external cyber schools.
During board comment on Aug. 26 Superintendent Dr. David Heizer and administration responded to a board member’s questions about the Boyertown Area Virtual program and associated compensation for teachers.
Administration provided a high‑level cost summary: the Boyertown virtual platform cost approximately $424,102 in the prior year and served roughly 139 students at year‑end. Administration said an external cyber provider could cost the district approximately $12,000 per student; using that figure, losing those students to external providers would represent a substantially higher gross cost (the administration cited an illustrative $1,668,000 figure to show the scale of difference). The district therefore framed the in‑district virtual program as a cost‑containment measure compared with losing students to outside cyber providers.
Board members raised questions about teacher compensation, workload and small‑enrollment course sections. Administration said the program includes stipend/MOU arrangements to compensate teachers for virtual course responsibilities that extend beyond the regular instructional day, and that some virtual sections do run with only a few students; compensation ranges in the MOU are intended to reflect workload and class sizes.
Administration asked the board to provide references if members know of districts that operate virtual programs without stipends; administration said it had explored comparative districts and asked for specific examples to review further.
Why it matters: the district’s virtual program is an operational and budgetary decision point as families consider cyber options; teacher compensation and small‑section management affect teacher workloads and costs.
Administration said it would follow up with comparative district examples if board members provide leads and will continue to track enrollment and costs for the program.
