When you've got to tighten your budget, one district asked itself, how do you maintain quality with less money?

Their answer... virtual classrooms.

Chetek High School introduced a wide variety of electives offered via virtual classroom this year. These courses range from Russian and oceanography to advanced placement courses in history and science.

Wade LeMoine is a senior at Chetek High School with an affinity for the skies. Currently an ROTC cadet in the Air Force, LeMoine enrolled in a virtual class in aviation science. He says, “I've always had an interest in aviation and this was a great opportunity for me to get some hands-on activity in aviation and learn the basic sciences behind it.”

His hands on activity?, “Towards the end of the course I got to actually get in a plane and fly it, which was pretty awesome.”

And science teacher Denise Michaelsen says this is just one example of the many opportunities Chetek students can receive with this year's virtual learning options. She says, “I think the best thing about it is just the fact the students get to dive deeper into areas they just want to learn more about.”

Principal Larry Zeman says when the district had to make budget cuts last year, it wanted to maintain a high level of quality. So while the district did cut a few courses, it added even more with virtual classrooms. The only downside is the cost -- at $325 per student, per trimester.

Michaelsen says, “Most students who plan to do an online course I think have a really independent ability to learn. They understand they can go on and do work without a lot of guidance.”

Which senior Morgan Broaddus says is part of the experience, “You can go at your own pace, but you have to be dedicated to it. If you're not a dedicated person, it’s tough to take an online class.”

But Principal Zeman says of the 35 students taking a virtual course this trimester, they have a zero percent failure rate.

With a limited budget, Zeman says students must have a 3.0 grade point average to take a virtual course, and a 3.5 GPA to take an advanced placement course. He also says the district has capped the amount it can spend on virtual learning this year to $20,000 dollars.