AREA SCHOOLS SEEK HELP THROUGH DONATIONS

Two Scott County school boards hope to tap into a source of money that universities and private schools around the country have depended upon for years: donations through not-for-profit school foundations.

The Scott City Board of Education has decided to establish a fund-raising foundation and has mailed letters to alumni explaining the plan and seeking input. Down the road near Benton, Thomas W. Kelly Board of Education has been discussing a foundation of its own to help raise money for the school district that covers a large part of central Scott County.

Raising private money for public schools isn't a new concept. Parent-teacher groups always have been around to help in a pinch and to carry out fund-raising projects for specific needs. Many public schools also have booster organizations that help raise money and support in a variety of ways academic, athletic or music programs.

But all of those efforts are limited in scope. Through school foundations -- as other districts have found -- serious fund-raising efforts for any purposes can be carried out.

Foundations have other benefits, as the situation in the Thomas W. Kelly School District illustrates. The rural district is in the process of completing plans for a construction project that would involve a bond issue. Alumni who live outside the district but want to help pay for the project can't vote on the bond issue. They could contribute through the foundation and help fund the project.

As the superintendent at Kelly pointed out, school districts are seeing the potential for extra money. Any money raised in an individual's name must go into the district's general fund, and from that fund the money can be used in a variety of ways where it is really needed, he said.

A number of school districts around the region have cited needs for building improvements and renovations, and voters aren't always willing to give their blessings to such projects. Private fund raising through foundations could prove an alternative or raise enough money to get the projects going.

Fund raising for public schools can work because it gets people involved in their school district. It puts them closer to the inner workings of the district, and can help build public support for a cause because so many people can get involved.

More school districts may find that foundations can help play a significant role in helping to ease their tight finances in the new century that will soon be upon us.