Parents upset after school district announces the end of a K-8 virtual program

RACINE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Many families in Racine recently received a notification from the Racine Unified School District that the K-8 virtual program that began during the COVID-19 pandemic will soon end, come next school year.

Some parents have expressed their frustration with the decision, claiming it has been fairly successful, often with a waitlist announced on their website.

"My parents told me, and I was really sad," said 11-year-old Samuel Russell. "Because I made a lot of friends and there's a possibility that I might get disconnected with them."

The fifth grader has been part of the virtual program for the past two years. His parents Tina and Matt told CBS 58 News that their eldest son had problems while learning in-person.

"There was some bullying issues and then his reactions to the bullying," Matt Russell explained. "There was just a lot of conflict with students that were in the class with him."

Samuel said going to school was not a good experience for him.

"Some of them were mean...they would curse, punch," he said.

His mother told CBS 58 News there was a significant shift of positivity when her son began learning from home.

"He just thrived, he felt accepted, and they really created this inclusive environment, and suddenly, we saw his academics, they were excelling," she said.

The school district however, told parents on March 6 via email, that the program would be ending after this 2024-2025 school year. In addition, a spokesperson for the district said personal phone calls were made since then.

"It's made a big impact on my life," Samuel Russell said. "I feel happier and just, I feel better in general."

The announcement prompted an online petition, which already has more than 470 signatures from families trying to keep the program open.

Marjorie Munoz created the petition on March 7 and she told CBS 58 News that her son is part of the program. In a message she said:

"At the beginning of this school year, we were told that the school was growing and that it was going to become a charter school so that it could stick around. Then out of the blue, I heard it was closing," she said. "I don’t see how the virtual program is affecting budget. We have no building for just virtual. They are in a Racine Unified building. We have no textbooks, no lunch program, no field trips, no bus services, and they already let go of some teachers last year and the year before."

RUSD Chief of Communication & Community Engagement Stacy Tapp issued CBS 58 News the following statement:

"In the fall, RUSD will return to our pre-COVID virtual learning programming which served high school students (grades 9-12). This is due to low enrollment among elementary and middle school virtual families and COVID funding coming to an end. We are reaching out to our K-8 virtual learning families to support them in finding the right school placement for their children for next year. We would love to be able to continue this program, but without the emergency funding and with fewer than 100 students district-wide (and continuing to decline), we simply cannot afford it."

Tapp said that roughly 16,000 students are enrolled in the school district and only about 90 are in K-8 virtual program. She said coming out of the pandemic, there has been a decline in demand and unfortunately, the cost of $1.7 million that go toward the program annually is just too high.

"We went to the school board meeting and spoke to the superintendent, he confirmed that it was something that was going to end that the funding was no longer available," said the Russell's.

Tapp said the high school virtual program that has been in place for more than a decade will continue. For students like Samuel however, this notice means returning to school in-person or finding alternative options.