The Crittenden Press Full Version (PDF)
School system established fundraising Foundation Crittenden County Board of Education has adopted an innovative plan to create a foundation – a fundraising arm of the school system – much like colleges and universities use to facilitate charitable giving.
The Crittenden County School District Foundation, or whatever it becomes to be called, will follow in the footsteps of Crittenden Health Systems, another local entity that recently formed a division to promote monetary gifts to the hospital.
The idea of developing a public school foundation is not unprecedented, but it is rare in western Kentucky. There are only five public school foundations in Kentucky that are registered affiliates of the National School Foundation Association. Those are in Danville, Lexington, Fort Thomas, Owensboro and Louisville.
Promoting college scholarship opportunities is one of the primary reasons Crittenden County wants to start its own foundation. However, it will be used to supplement local, state and federal funds in operating the school district. In light of looming budget cuts this year from the state and trends of fewer dollars from governmental sources, the school district has opted to pursue private and corporate funding.
“The dream that our board, superintendent and school staff shares is we would like to be able to say to any student that graduates from Crittenden County he or she can go on to continue their education,” said Chris Cook, chairman of the school board. “There will be resources available through the foundation so we can offer scholarships to students. We believe over time, as word gets out about the fund that is going to become a reality.”
Crittenden County education officials say the plan is to model the foundation after a School Counts program used by Madisonville Community College.
“We envision this being one large scholarship fund that multiple students could benefit from,” Cook said.
It’s all about the students, Cook said. From facility improvements to scholarships to class enrichment, it’s all focused on what the school can do to provide a better education and experience for the students.
Former school teacher Dulcie Hardin has been active in working with scholarship endowment programs for Murray State and Madisonville Community College, which includes charitable giving by local individuals and businesses. She thinks the idea of forming a school foundation to benefit Crittenden schools is a great idea and she believes people will be willing to give.
“I think they will because most of us owe a lot of who and what we are to our education, our schools,” she said. “This will provide an opportunity for some payback.”
Sources of giving are numerous, according to the National School Foundation Association. Funds may come from graduates, school district vendors, corporations, individuals or area businesses, life insurance policies or estates.
The local school district hopes to capitalize on the need or desire of groups and individuals to give to a charitable organization.
The school’s foundation will be set up as a non-profit donor fund, which provides transparency and gives the donor a qualified tax deduction.
While charitable giving will be handled through the foundation for general needs, funds may also be donated for a specific purpose. For instance, if the school wanted to revamp the football field or expand the library, it could target donors to contribute to that particular cause.
“If a donor has a heart for something and wants to donate just to that passion, there’s no reason we can’t honor those wishes,” Cook said. “Our possibilities are limitless.”
Crittenden’s foundation will be formed through the Community Foundation of West Kentucky (CFWK), which is headquartered in Paducah. CFWK charges one half of one percent for administering the foundation.
“One of the things that’s gaining popularity is the option of people naming their passion and leaving a part or all of their life insurance policy to the foundation,” Cook said. “There are also ways to give assets such as cash, stocks or land to the fund. Donors would receive income from that during their lifetimes. They would enjoy tax deductions and income during their lifetime, and then when they passed, the assets stay with the fund.”
Fundraising will fall in to three categories:
•Annual campaigns, consisting of phone-a-thons, direct mail, alumni group meetings, special events and the like.
•A capital campaign seeks larger contributions with a specific purpose in mind. Donations can be paid out over a span of several years. This type of campaign would only be started every 10 years or so.
•Planned giving such as from wills or life insurance polices will yield the greatest rewards for the district.
“The fund is a 501c3,” Cook said, meaning contributions are tax deductible.
Carlisle County School District is the only other small school district in western Kentucky known to be working toward a similar foundation through the Paducah-based foundation administrator.
Whereas the deal is official with CFWK, the district has not made any other decisions concerning the fund.
“We are going to have the next few months now that we have entered into the agreement with them to sit down to plan how we’re going to promote and use this vehicle,” Cook said.
City decides to stuff $1 million into savings account The City of Marion has decided to put its recent $1 million windfall into a savings account.
A few weeks ago, the city received a seven-figure buyout for its interest in the Smithland Hydroelectric Dam license. American Municipal Power, Inc., bought the city’s interest, which it had obtained more than 20 years ago based partly on a mapping quirk.
Mayor Mickey Alexander said the money is in the bank right now and will soon be invested in some type of higher interest-bearing account.
City Administrator Mark Bryant said negotiations are underway to get the best interest rate possible. It appears the money will be used to buy a five-year certificate of deposit at around 2.6 percent interest. That would yield about $137,000 over the term.
The mayor said the interest will be added into the revenue side of the city’s general fund budget.
Woman bites jailer, smacks trooper A woman whom police say moved here recently from Delaware is facing a series of felony charges as a result of an alleged second-offense DUI and alleged altercations with police and jail deputies.
Michelle Blanchfield, 32, was arrested in the afternoon Thursday, March 11 on U.S. 60 West by Kentucky State Trooper Darron Holliman and charged initially with being an impaired driver of a black 2000 Pontiac. A cellular phone call to the Marion Police Department had alerted officers to a vehicle matching that description. The caller had advised that the car was being operated erratically. When Trooper Holliman arrived, he found the car off the shoulder of the highway with Blanchfield behind the wheel and her mother standing outside the vehicle. The mother had not been a passenger in the car, according to police reports.
Blanchfield appeared in Crittenden District Court last Wednesday for a preliminary hearing, at which time Judge Kenton Watson ruled that sufficient probable cause had been established in order to send the case to the grand jury, which meets April 19.
At last week’s hearing, it was also alleged that once at Crittenden County Detention Center, Blanchfield struck Trooper Holliman in the head and kicked him in the groin area. Other testimony alleged that the suspect bit Robert Donahoo, a male deputy jailer, on the inner thigh and struck Shirley Jones, a female guard, in the chest area, causing bruising to both jail workers. The confrontations are alleged to have occurred shortly after Blanchfield had been taken to the jail and before she was officially booked.
Blanchfield faces various charges, including two counts of felony wanton endangerment based on official complaints from motorists who met her vehicle on the road that day. She is also charged with four counts of third-degree assault for allegedly hitting or biting the policeman and jail deputies, second-offense DUI with an aggravator for refusing implied consent tests, failure to maintain insurance and having no operator’s license.