District proposes contracting with Utah Online School for secondary courses to cut eSchool costs

District leaders on Jan. 13 proposed restructuring the district's eSchool program and moving much of secondary course delivery to Utah Online School (UOS), a state online‑provider, as a cost‑saving and operational simplification measure.

John Anderson, presenting the review, said the district spent about $832,000 operating its in‑district eSchool program last year and that UOS offered a contract price that would have cost roughly $324,000 to deliver the same credits under a local MOU. Anderson summarized the arithmetic: "PCSD eSchool awarded 649 credits to our district students in '24 and '25. That same amount would have cost $324,000 under this contract," and added, "Just with the numbers alone... we would save quite 500,000, a little over." He recommended keeping a reduced in‑district team — a registrar and a specialist — to manage enrollment, testing (including proposed competency testing and GED hosting) and the transition.

Anderson and business staff said the change would reduce district‑paid stipends that currently go to roughly "35 and change" teachers who earn extra income through eSchool; payments vary widely by teacher, he said, from about $1,500 annually up to $25,000 for some part‑time instructors. The district estimated savings of roughly $500,000 annually but acknowledged operational tradeoffs (fewer local eSchool teachers, reassignments, and the need to manage teacher incomes and HR impacts). Anderson said the district cannot deny students access to the State Online Education Program (SOEP) for original credit, but that better local management would limit repeat or credit‑recovery enrollments that previously drove costs.

Board members asked how many teachers would lose stipends, how many seats might move to UOS, and whether homeschool or dual‑enrolled students could access a district online option. Anderson said the UOS contract would be for Provo students only (outside students would still use SOEP and their home districts); homeschool students who are dual matriculated could participate. He told the board an implementation decision would be needed by the February board meeting for a launch the next school year.

Superintendent Dow and business staff said they will return with details about the fiscal impacts on individual teachers and an implementation timeline if the board directs that staff pursue a contract. No formal decision was taken in the study session; the item will be part of budget deliberations.