Saturday, December 04, 1999
Covington kids to get cash help for college
Foundation's aim: Get more students to go
BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — A group of business and community leaders wants to make the dream of continuing education after high school a reality for Covington students.
The Covington Educational Foundation will start the new millennium with a push to raise money for scholarships and other financial assistance to help students who want to go to college.
“We are more or less like the big brothers and sisters,” said foundation member Bennie Doggett, who owns a women's clothing store in Covington.
“We are trying to save all of the kids, and it's not an unrealistic goal to me. This foundation is made up of people that have been successful in life and are at a point where we want to give back,” she said.
Covington Schools Superintendent James Kemp said the district knows it has a population base with a lower-than-average number of students continuing on with some sort of post-high school education.
Between 17 percent and 20 percent of Covington students continue their education after graduation. The state average is 50 percent. Students and their families say the most common barrier is money.
“We know that some of the family members are on a fixed income and there are already a lot of needs within the family,” said Ms. Doggett, who has a particular concern for the district's African-American students.
Covington Schools created the foundation in 1998 to reap benefits it saw other schools
receiving. In 1999, the board funded a part-time director.
Director Diane Brumback has assembled a board of directors 37 strong, including Kenton County Attorney Garry Edmondson, Covington City Manager Greg Jarvis and Neighborhood Watch leaders Bev Wedding and Barb Cook.
Mrs. Brumback said the foundation will solicit donations from individuals and corporations, and hold events such as dinner-dances and golf outings.
Mrs. Brumback said the goal is to raise as much money as possible to increase the number of students who continue their education.
“There are so many needs for so many of our students out there that the formation of a foundation is often times absolutely the only option a school or community in general will have,” Mr. Kemp said. “This is a neat way, a good way, to direct the efforts of the community so that our students can be more successful in the adult world.”
The private-funds movement started in California, where state Supreme Court rulings led to a redirection of property tax revenue and creation of Proposition 13 in 1978.
To compensate for the missing money, California school boards and parents turned to foundations. The idea spread quickly to other cash-strapped districts nationwide.
The number of education foundations in Kentucky increased after the 1990 passage of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). That legislation created a guaranteed base of per-pupil funding, higher funding increases to poorer districts and a 1-cent-on-the-dollar sales tax increase. KERA capped the amount of aid wealthy districts could receive. That prompted schools to find money in other ways.
The Beechwood School Foundation is working on a millennium campaign to raise $50,000 and buy science equipment for new labs at the high school.
The Boone County School Foundation has raised thousands in corporate and private donations for computers.
“The kids are the future, and the future work force,” Mrs. Brumback said. “We want to make sure the kids in Covington have the same opportunities to become successful.”
Educational Foundation Consultants, based in Michigan, estimates that nearly 18 percent of U.S. schools benefit by funds raised by foundations.
To Ms. Doggett, serving on the foundation is a responsibility.
“It can't be left up to teachers and administrators because there are a lot of business people and alumni who can help us,” she said. “With this particular board, the agenda is the Covington kids and nothing else.”
For information about the Covington Educational Foundation, call Diane Brumback at 292-5800, ext. 250.
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