Perhaps Hope, which this year expects to have nearly 4,000 students enrolled in 70 learning centers statewide, can finally get on the good side of its adversaries. Its leaders certainly seem eager to improve both the transparency of its operations and its credibility as an institution of learning.

First, however, the online school must recover from another setback. It recently entered into an agreement to reimburse the state nearly $3 million because it overbilled for student instruction time. In part, the excess payment was for "passing periods" - the time students spend between classes - that the state doesn't pay for.

Hope's executive director, Heather O'Mara, insists this was a misunderstanding, that the school thought that the tiny Vilas School District in southeastern Colorado that controls Hope's charter had allowed the school to collect money for passing periods. Such payments aren't allowed under any circumstances, and Hope must repay.

Even if this was an honest mistake, it's one more mark against Hope's shaky reputation - and it may be why school officials are publicly welcoming the added oversight that's part of the agreement with the state.

Along with the reimbursement, Hope will also pay a Colorado Department of Education monitor. This person will have the authority to review the school's operations for the next year, will have "unfettered access" to the school's records and its learning centers, and will report directly to Education Commissioner Dwight Jones.

Rather than an impediment, O'Mara told us the school sees the state monitor as a potential partner. Regular contact with the Department of Education, she said, will give the school an opportunity to better follow state regulations. It may also give the school an avenue to work with state officials as they develop procedures for all online schools, not just Hope.

A second move is also welcome: The school will apply to have its charter transferred from Vilas to the Douglas County district. Hope entered into a consulting agreement with Dougco in January to improve its policies and standards. The lion's share of Hope's learning centers are in the metro area. So are nearly 90 percent of its students. Douglas County school officials could visit learning centers and talk with students much more easily than the small staff at Vilas. Dougco also has extensive experience with charter schools.

O'Mara argues that some mistakes were inevitable because the entire notion of an online public school is new; maybe so, but the grace period during which the public will understand these slips has run out.

Meanwhile, it's important to remember that the majority of Hope students don't seem to fit in traditional public schools. Hope might not provide the only opportunity for these students to learn, but it does educate more than half the Colorado students enrolled online. For many of them, there may be few alternatives.

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