District seeks to design localized program

SIDNEY -- The Sidney School District Board of Education approved giving notice to ESU-13 that it will be withdrawing from the VALTS program.

Sidney Superintendent Andrew Farber said resigning from VALTS requires a specific timeline. 

"In order to get our of VALTS you have to give two years notice, so we're on our last year's notice. We dropped from four seats to one. It's $7,000 a seat. The goal in doing that is we intend on starting 'Journeys,' start our own program, for our students in the sub-Panhandle. What we have to do is approve the interlocal agreement one more year and then next year won't approve it," he said.   

VALTS, Valley Alternative Learning Transitioning School, is designed as an alternative school environment for students who need an alternative school environment. 

Farber said there is a form of Journeys already in place. He asked Sidney High School Principal Ryan Plummer to talk about the Journeys program.

"There's a few little minor hiccups that we're running into, but we are running it just as an accelerated credit program. The goal is to get back in class, to graduate with their class," Plummer said in the Monday meeting.

He said to open Journeys to neighboring schools require addressing logical questions, administrative and disciplinary expectations.

Plummer estimates the program will cost about $5,000 per student.