Education Commissioner Kevin HuffmanEfforts this year by the nation’s largest for-profit online education company to open a second and third statewide virtual school under contract with Campbell County schools are a no-go with the state at least for now.
The schools, which publicly traded K12 Inc. won a contract with the school district to operate, was scheduled to start Friday, the district’s first day of school.
But state officials, still grappling with low first-year student performance at K12 Inc.’s controversial Tennessee Virtual School operation in Union County, late last month refused to approve the latest venture.
In a July 30 letter to Campbell County school officials, state Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman’s office said the district failed to provide key details officials need to assess its application for K12 Inc. to run the proposed schools and receive taxpayer funding.
Instead, according to a copy of the application, school officials just checked off various boxes on a standard state form and attached a copy of what the state characterizes as a K12 Inc. company “brochure.”