In a county where public school enrollment is declining and teachers' salaries have been shown to lag behind those of their peers, school officials are looking at alternatives to traditional classroom education.

The Bedford County School Board will consider starting a virtual school to teach public school students online beginning in the 2008-09 school year, becoming the first school system in Western Virginia to use K12.com's curriculum. The Web-based system, which serves more than 40,000 students in full-time programs in 22 states, offers education in the core areas of language arts, math, science, history, music and art for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The company launched its program in 1999.

Virtual school is similar to home schooling, except the public school system provides textbooks and regular conferences with teachers. Home visits can be requested but are not required ,and students need a computer connected to the Internet to complete about 25 percent of the course work.

"When you give parents and when you give the community more choices and options to educate I think it is a positive move," said Victor Gosnell, the county schools' director of technology and media.

If the school board gives the project the go-ahead Thursday night, school officials will seek at least 30 students from kindergarten to eighth grade to attend the Bedford Academy of Virtual Learning. Depending on enrollment, social activities such as field trips, picnics or even sports could be included, Gosnell said.

Big Island Elementary School Principal Debbie Shelton has been selected to serve as principal of the virtual school if it is approved.

A minimum of 30 students would be required in the first year to balance costs versus state reimbursements, Gosnell said. The cost to educate 30 students would be approximately $135,000, and the school system could expect the same amount back in per pupil reimbursements from the state.

"The actual cost per pupil would be less after we reach a certain point," Gosnell said of the cost to educate in the virtual school versus the traditional education in the classroom. "Our preliminary calculations are somewhere between 30 and 40 students" to break even.

One facet of the virtual school's potential cost effectiveness is that only one teacher per 50 to 65 students is recommended, since parents are expected to work one-on-one daily with the children. In the traditional school setting the maximum student-to-teacher ratio is usually 25-to-1, Gosnell said.

If the virtual school is approved and successful, Bedford County would like to add a high school curriculum and a course in Latin. Finding Latin teachers for the high schools has proved difficult, and Gosnell said offering the course through the virtual school is one way to alleviate the problem. This school year one instructor teaches a distance learning Latin course at both Liberty and Staunton River high schools, he said.

The proposed virtual school would attempt to reach students not already enrolled in the county's public schools, such as those either home schooled or privately schooled. Enrollment in the virtual school would be offered at no charge to county residents.

Nelson and Pittsylvania counties operate virtual schools using K12.com's curriculum, according to its Web site. A Virginia Department of Education spokesman could not immediately provide information Tuesday on the number of other localities in the state operating virtual schools.

The Bedford County School Board will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Bedford Science & Technology Center to consider the project.