FREDERICK, Md. — The Frederick County Board of Education balanced its 2025 budget at the expense of its Remote Virtual Program (RVP). Parents and students who use the program have been pushing to save it in recent weeks. The school board made its decision at a meeting Wednesday.
Frederick County Public Schools was facing a more than $50 million budget gap. By the start of Wednesday's meeting, the gap remained at about $6 million. The board approved measures such as increasing class sizes, reducing pay raises for educators and increasing sports fees to close the gap.
The RVP program served students in third through eighth grade with learning difficulties such as autism, ADHD and anxiety. Keeping the program afloat would cost $2.7 million in 2025, according to school system documents. It remains in place for high school students.
RELATED: Students with special needs resist elimination of 'remote virtual program' in Frederick County
The Remote Virtual Program serves 224 of the county’s nearly 27,000 students.
David Bass, who sits on the Frederick County Board of Education said next steps include an in-person Board of Education meeting on June 12 where students and parents can speak again. He says it's unlikely that the program will be reinstated, but that's not stopping these parents from continuing to fight for the kids.
"This program, it means everything to these kids," said Penelope Campbell whose two sons are both autistic and in the remote virtual program.
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