MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Montgomery County Public Schools’ Virtual Academy brings the classroom to the computer at home for many students.
But due to budgetary concerns, the program born of the pandemic era could be on the chopping block.
“What we discovered is that a lot of kids were actually thriving in this environment and our son is one of them," said Courtney Evans, the mother of a fourth grader in Montgomery Virtual Academy.
Evans and her husband, Sterling High, said the Virtual Academy has continued to serve more than 800 families in the county, long after COVID concerns dwindled, including their 10-year-old son, Evan.
"I just want to convey just how devastated we will be by losing this access," High said.
The Virtual Academy is now on track to be eliminated next school year after Montgomery County Public Schools learned its 2025 budget. The announcement came Friday, and the Evans-High family said it was a gut punch.
"The pandemic is not over for everybody," Evans said. "We would also like to be able to move on, but some of us are dealing with long COVID and dealing with fallout from it.”
A statement from Montgomery County Public Schools and the Board of Education said, “Schools are fundamentally about people, and we understand the profound impact that this budget and potential reductions will have on our dedicated workforce, students and families.”
School officials said final decisions on the budget won’t be made until the next open board meeting June 11. But the Evans-High family is hoping to get through to them before then.
"This is a need, not a want," Evans said. "Even though it’s a program on the budget line, the students, the families, the staff, the community that it serves -- it’s a school for all intents and purposes.”
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High and Evans said they were one of many families fighting to keep the virtual academy when it was on the chopping block during the initial budget proposal earlier this year. They said their testimony then was enough to change the Board of Education’s mind at the time.
"Don’t make a promise in February, well before people can make decisions, if that fell through and then come back three months until the next school year. And well past points of families being able to find alternatives," High said.
High and Evans said they will testify at the open meeting a week from Tuesday. They also said the Parent Teacher Council is seeking consultation with an education lawyer to see if any legal action can be taken.
The Parent Teacher Council is also collecting signatures for an online petition.
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