Thursday, April 06, 2000
Foundation will aid education in Warren County
Goal is new sources for financing
BY PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Educators are developing a charitable foundation to help pay for school programs in Warren County.
Today, the Warren County Educational Foundation will be presented to area business leaders. With budget constraints and taxpayer pressure facing many schools, the foundation's founders want to find a new way to fund education.
“We want to be able to supplement schools, so they can provide a quality education,” said Sharon Jewell, president of the Wayne Local Schools board of education and one of the foundation's backers.
The money raised will be divided among county schools for projects and programs. The new foundation is being established with the Warren County Career Center and its member school districts. Already, the fund is gaining interest from the community, she said.
Foundations have been a key part of education for decades. Many universities and private schools use them to pay for many things including salaries, construction and scholarships. More recently, public schools, including a number in the Tristate, have set up foundations.
In Madeira, donations helped equip a new science lab, supply band uniforms and build bleachers. Since its 1984 formation, the Madeira Schools Foundation has given nearly $500,000 to the schools, said Patty Nulsen, president of the Madeira foundation.
Like most schools, Madeira relies on property taxes for funding. But the district does not have much industry, so much of the burden is on homeowners, Ms. Nulsen said. To ease that burden, supporters started the foundation.
“We are helping to supplement funds for the board of education,” she said. Otherwise, projects such as a new running track that the foundation helped build, might not get funded, she added.
In Warren County the concerns are much the same, Ms. Jewell said. At an educators conference a few years ago, she heard how other schools are looking for ways to pay for school programs, without going back constantly to property taxes.
To ease the process, she helped organize the educational fund under the umbrella of the 3-year-old Warren County Foundation, based in Lebanon. That foundation has grown to about $2.5 million and grants money to causes throughout the county.
There is a community interest in helping schools succeed, said William Combs, president of the Warren County Foundation. Business leaders and civic groups are being courted. And private gifts, including those left by estates, are being accepted to help build up the education foundation.
The preview today is being held for area business partners. Others who want more information on the fund can contact the Warren County Foundation at (513) 934-1001.
Manager on ropes, but not out door
Some students return to CPS
Single instant turned customer into convict
Taft imposes safe-gun policy
Erin, Julia display more than cleavage
Romance writer wants to protect her craft
Jewish lawmaker stands ground
Butler, Warren quit jobs team
Four expelled in school drug case
Foundation will aid education in Warren County
Allen Temple to build impressive new church at Swifton
Fax a cut-and-paste job
Masters jacket: Made in Cincinnati
Moby, Bush thrill Miami audience
Springboro hiring elementary teachers
Teens badly hurt in West Union car crash
Butler newsletter helps businesses cut down on waste
Chemical leaks onto interstate
Ex-firefighter guilty of benefit fraud
Flag says it all about Glendale
Mason schools get free weather radios
Suit hits fees charged at jail
Teen births in city down 29% since '93
Teen drinking to be examined
Variety spices Mason event
Woman likely was strangled
Food Network visiting Northern Kentucky
For ceramic painter, it's guns 'n' skateboards
GET TO IT
Queen City's moments to shine reflected in book
TRISTATE DIGEST
