The Oregon Virtual Academy, a new online virtual charter school sponsored by the North Bend School District, will hold its second public board meeting at 6 p.m. this Monday in the superintendent’s office at 1913 Meade St.

All but one board member will be attending the meeting by phone. Those interested in tapping electronically into the teleconference call can call (866) 229-4551, ext. 411848#.  

ORVA board member Martin Callery will be on hand at the district offices to help facilitate the meeting, which will be conducted via teleconference with the board’s three other members, who live in Eugene, Gresham and Beaverton.

Items on the agenda include motions to hire teachers and approve a school calendar.

The k-8 online academy has an enrollment of about 30 students and approximately 160 applicants from districts around the state, said Randall Greenway, the acting interim head of the charter.

Classes begin on Sept. 3.

In June, the State Board of Education approved the North Bend district’s waiver application to make an exception to the “50 percent rule,” which requires charter schools with online courses to gather at least 50 percent of their students from within their own districts.

With the waiver came several conditions, including that ORVA serve only grades kindergarten through eighth; that the school take no more than 600 students; and that students outside of North Bend obtain written approval from their resident districts to enroll. The waiver sunsets on July 1, 2010, unless extended by the state board.

The district also must work with the Oregon Department of Education to collect data on the overall operation and to submit to a third-party performance evaluation of its entire academic, programmatic and operational programs.

For more information, call Greenway at (501) 690-9140, or e-mail him at rgreenway@k12.com.