Sixty-three township youngsters get their high school education through online courses, and the public school district wants to educate them and save some money in the process.

Toward that end, the administration would like to start the Bensalem Hybrid Academy next school year. The program would allow such students to take online courses offered by the district, through the Brandywine Virtual Academy, with the option of some classes at Bensalem High School.

The Board of Education could decide on the proposal, which was outlined at its meeting last week, as soon as June 22.

Assistant Superintendent David Baugh told the board the Bensalem Hybrid Academy is a “dynamic, low-cost opportunity” for the district. At present, he said, each “cyber charter school” student costs the district $10,500 per school year. Under the new district program, the district cost would be $4,800 if a student took all their courses on line, with each credit costing $590. That cost would fall to $325 for credit recovery courses needed when students have to repeat a course, Baugh said.

The Brandywine Virtual Academy course catalog would add several new courses to the district's offerings, he explained.

BVA provides "membership" pricing to any school district in Bucks, Montgomery Delaware and Chester counties. It has reached Annual Yearly Progress under the federal No Child Left Behind legislation four years in a row, according to Baugh.

“This is very rare for an online school,” he said this week. “Agorra, the primary on line charter school in Pennsylvania has not done this, yet continues to be the primary cyber charter provider."

Baugh told the board the program would not require any new staffing and would carry no-start-up costs.

“There's no cost until we have the students, and then there are savings right off the bat,” Baugh said.

The assistant superintendent said online courses provide students with flexibility.

“They could take the courses from Panera (Bread) if they want to,” he said.

But he acknowledged that the toughest part of the program for students is the discipline needed to take all their courses online.

“We like to think that the blended model (with some classes at BHS) would offer structure to these students,” he said.

The academy would also provide opportunities to special education students with counselor support. It could be expanded, Baugh said, to the “bricks and mortar” students now attending Bensalem High.

Superintendent Bill Gretzula said it would be helpful in giving the district time to reach out to cyber school student parents if the board were to approve the academy June 22. But he said the district could still proceed for the next school year if the board waits to act until its subsequent meeting, Aug. 10.

A couple board members said they think there are several questions that will need to be answered before they can approve the Hybrid Academy program.