Florida Virtual School Cuts Staff
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) -- Pointing to a change in the state's education-financing formula, Florida Virtual School eliminated 177 full-time positions Monday, the Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau reported.
Florida Virtual School is the state's online public school, and the legislative change led to traditional school systems receiving fewer dollars than last year for students who enroll in online courses.
The Times/Herald reported that House education appropriations Chairman Erik Fresen, R-Miami, said the change was needed because Florida Virtual School was receiving a disproportionately large share of state education dollars.
Earlier this summer, Florida Virtual cut 625 part-time instructor positions, and decided against filling 24 open-part time positions.
Florida Virtual School serves about 130,000 students from across the state.
Students can either enroll full time, or take one or more classes in addition to their coursework at a traditional school.
"The News Service of Florida contributed to this report."