WILLMAR -- The Willmar Public Schools Foundation Board approved more than $7,000 in grants Monday.
The grants will pay for a variety of programs in the Willmar School District, including wellness programs at the Senior High and meals for volunteers at Jefferson Elementary.
Before approving the grants, the board heard a report about the money raised at its first annual fundraising gala. The gala raised $16,000, and major contributors gave another $15,000 for Senior High band uniforms. After expenses at the gala, the foundation was able to pay $28,600 of the $40,000 cost of the uniforms.
The foundation currently has $29,000 available to allocate for projects in the school district. That figure would have dropped to about $22,000 after the grants approved on Monday.
The school district was able to pay the remaining cost from its regular capital budget, said Superintendent Kathy Leedom.
ADVERTISEMENT
The foundation was contacted by the Internal Revenue Service, asking for a standard review of its activities. Leedom said she contacted an accountant specializing in foundations who reviewed the foundation's records and prepared the proper documents to submit to the IRS.
"We had a good review of our records," she said, and no problems were found.
The annual gala will likely bring the foundation into a category of foundations that will require more IRS and state paperwork, Leedom said.
The board unanimously approved all but one of the grant requests it received.
A split vote came over a request to provide meals for volunteers in the Rotary Reader and Lunch Buddy programs at Jefferson Elementary.
Board member Richard Falk voted against approving the $561.60 requested by Jefferson elementary, but it was because he wanted to see the program expanded.
Leedom said many volunteers pay for their lunches and have no problem with it, but for some people it could be a hardship.
Falk praised programs that bring adults from the community into the schools and said he and his wife have participated in them.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I think if we do it for one school, we ought to do it for other schools," he said.
Other members of the board suggested that schools could submit their own requests if they needed help with the same issue.
Other grants approved by the board include:
- $1,000 for the Kennedy Accelerated Reader Program, to be used to provide student rewards for the 2006-07 year. The program promotes reading by awarding students points for passing tests based on the books they have read. The students use the points to earn rewards.
- $1,500 to purchase a Taiko drum for the annual artist in residence program at the Area Learning Center.
- $470 to pay for bus transportation for 44 students to the National College Fair at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
- $3,000 to fund the Teen Health and Wellness Expo, the depression/suicide prevention campaign and after-school Fitness Center activities at the Senior High.
- $740 to pay registration fees and activity fees for nine students at the Senior High.
