ADVANCE GETS THE JOB DONE

There is nothing unusual about a small school district struggling to make ends meet while buildings crumble and programs decline. Unable to pass a local tax increase to pay for school improvements -- many are in already financially strapped regions where taxpayers can't really afford a new tax levy -- the school district is reduced to complaining and appealing for additional funding from the state.

But one Southeast Missouri community has taken a different approach. In tiny Advance in Stoddard County, residents and school alumni formed the Advance Public Schools Foundation to collect money for Advance schools. Their first project was to raise money for a new school building.

The district's initial plans for the new building called for a 10,000-square-foot multipurpose room. Those plans were dropped, though, because the facility was too expensive. Then the foundation got involved. It needed to raise $250,000 for the multipurpose room to be built along with the new building -- not a lot in terms of new school construction, but a considerable amount for a small, rural community like Advance.

Solicitations sent to Advance alumni alone netted $200,000. Advance merchants then were asked to kick in. Many merchants obliged, and the new building, with plans for the multipurpose room, is under construction.

Local school officials are grateful but unsurprised by the community's support for the district. After all, they say, in the past four or five years, the Advance Band Boosters have raised about $30,000 and the Athletic Boosters have raised about $40,000.

The support might not be surprising to those who have come to expect it, but the outpouring of donations is a remarkable example of what local backing can mean to a financially strapped school district.