Perrysburg Schools seek money boost
6/4/2013Perrysburg Schools, in partnership with the Perrysburg Schools Foundation, plans to hire a full-time development director to seek donations from alumni and other supporters.
It plans to hire the director this summer to be a fund-raiser. The district hired Aly Sterling Philanthropy to assess the district's fund-raising potential, provide strategic direction, and helped to find the director.
“The public school funding model is changing, and Perrysburg School District is taking proactive steps in facing these new fiscal realities,” said district Superintendent Thomas Hosler. “This is a unique concept in traditional public schools: a revenue-generating position. This program’s goal will be to enable the district to reduce our reliance on local tax dollars.”
The idea behind the development program is to keep the district competitive with private and charter schools that have cultivated donors, the district said in a statement. The district loses locally levied funds when a student leaves for a charter school and vouchers to private schools would work that same way under discussions by state lawmakers.
The development program, the district said, would allow the school system to offer more enrichment activities, technology integration, and more, all helping to retain and improve the district's academic excellence.
Under the plan, the district will accept, manage, and distribute donations according to donor wishes. It would establish priorities for the financial gifts which would include academics, athletics, and facilities.
The district has been working with the schools foundation and the foundation board President Nick Camp. The foundation, a nonprofit organization established in 1983, was formed to solicit contributions to supplement educational programs in Perrysburg Schools.