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Teachers press board over MNVA/K12 problems; motion to give 45‑day cure notice tabled
Summary
Teachers and online‑school staff told the Houston board that MNVA (Minnesota Virtual Academy) operations under K12/Stride suffer curriculum, integration and tech‑support failures; a motion to serve a 45‑day cure notice to the vendor was made by Mark Swanson but lacked a second and was tabled while the online school committee is asked to set priorities and SLAs.
Teachers, administrators and committee members spent the largest portion of the meeting addressing persistent problems with the district’s Minnesota Virtual Academy (MNVA), the managed online school operated under contract with K12/Stride. Staff described frequent tech failures, misaligned and unmodifiable curriculum, and broken integrations that force substantial manual work.
Peggy, a teacher who identified herself and her 16 years at the district, told the board: "The curriculum that we get for K12 is completely useless. It's completely out of date... We spend more time this year helping kids with tech support than I do with helping them with content." Peggy said staff have built workarounds but that many issues remain unaddressed despite repeated requests.
Other teachers and administrators corroborated the complaints. The online school committee, represented by Mimi Carlson, reported it had met with vendor representatives and recommended continued work within the committee rather than immediate legal action; the committee’s recommendation at this meeting was to not send a formal letter at this time and instead prioritize fixes, service‑level agreements (SLAs) and collaboration steps with K12.
Board member Mark Swanson moved to serve K12 with a 45‑day cure notice to address contract deficiencies; the motion did not receive a second. Board discussion after the motion emphasized the need for a concrete transition plan, contingency options and a prioritized list of outstanding issues before taking action that could jeopardize the online school. Several board members warned that terminating the managed relationship without an alternative could imperil MNVA enrollment and staffing.
Outcome: The motion to provide notice was tabled. The board tasked the online school committee to compile and prioritize the outstanding issues, set deadlines/SLA expectations for remediation, and report back with options (including vendor remediation, escalation, or transition alternatives) so the board can consider formal action with a prepared transition plan.
