How will The East Fund help or hurt with state or district funding?
The Fund will offer some help, by providing resources that would otherwise be unavailable for enhanced learning projects. Money from The Fund cannot be used to replace state or district funding; and by law, the state of Kansas cannot reduce our allocation just because we have The Fund to assist us. The School Bond project passed in 2004 is for capital improvements only, so it will be used to upgrade our physical campus; the Bond monies cannot be used for student, teacher or program related expenditures, which is how we use The East Fund.
The East Fund will never be able to replace adequate funding from the state. Please actively lobby our legislators to find a state funding formula that will serve all Kansans well.
Do other public schools have funds like this?
Yes, there is a very long history of public universities benefiting from the investment of private donations. Each year, locally and across the country, many more secondary and elementary public schools are creating enhancement funds to secure their students’ futures.
It is possible for any school to create a fund if they wish to do so. Excellence is not achieved by suppressing the ability to reach higher: When you raise the water, all the boats float higher.
How are the district and the administration involved?
The Shawnee Mission School District and Shawnee Mission East administrators have been very involved since the idea
of The East Fund was first introduced. Representatives from the administration and faculty participate on The Fund’s leadership committees to help with decision making.
The East Fund is also a part of the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation, which provides valuable assistance with administration, accounting and management of our funds.
What will this Fund be able to do?
Most importantly The East Fund creates involvement, the most important ingredient in any successful school. The community, staff, parents, students and leaders, work carefully together to discover the most effective ways to enhance learning for all students at East now and in the future. With the Fund as a resource, there is organized community impetus. Without a resource, dreams are not dreamed, nor are they attained. The East Fund will fund many important ideas that benefit learning and in the process mobilize a community for education.
Who makes decisions about The EAST Fund?
Volunteer committees of parents, faculty, administrators, students, alumni and community leaders work together to determine how to spend and invest our funds. Guidelines and bylaws exist to direct these volunteers. Please help with our decision-making … visit Fund meetings, submit a project proposal, and volunteer your talent to help The Fund succeed.
What east fund grants have been awarded?
Read about the requests we have approved since 2004. Grants have been awarded technology, student programming and staff professional development. The grants are having an impact on science, language arts, fine arts, math, social studies, special education, counseling and more.
Why do we put some of our funds into an endowment and spend some money immediately?
The endowment is our savings account (as noted below, We will always keep at least $75,000 in our endowment; this represents the donations from the founders when The East Fund was established). The security and ongoing income the endowment provides will ensure that we can main-t ain staff and programs in the long run.
Our endowment will help us weather inevitable funding challenges or take advantage of opportunities that we might otherwise miss. Endowment is the single most important asset of any successful and visionary educational institution.
Yet our students and staff have immediate needs as they struggle to deal with dwindling resources and increasing demands. To maintain our tradition of academic success, we also address some urgent needs. Twice every school year grants are awarded for projects that target student learning programs, technology and professional development.
Thus, money raised each year at Feast for East and from individual donors is used to fund grant requests. We will always keep at least $75,000 in our endowment, which are the donations given by the founders that established The Fund. The endowment may increase if the Board allocates some portion of new gifts to it, after project funding is decided.
How does The East Fund differ from other SME support groups?
There is no overlap between The East Fund and other important organizations at SME that fund our athletics program and individual sports, arts programs and events, student/family advocacy and critical communications efforts.
These “booster” clubs and the PTA provide valuable benefits to the SME community. But only The East Fund exclusively invests in sustainable academic programs and the long-term success of all SME students.
What about the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation?
The Shawnee Mission East Educational Excellence Fund is a part of the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation (SMEF) A small percentage of all money in The East Fund will go to SMEF for management and for benefit of the district fund as a whole. The people who founded The East Fund are committed to working through SMEF to help other schools successfully create their own funds.
How can I learn more? How can I be involved?
Look around this Web site, contact people listed here and talk with your friends and others in the community about the good things The East Fund is doing!
Where can I find promotional materials and forms (grant applications, contribution forms, photo release forms, expense reports, etc.)?
Numerous forms and other materials are availble online. You can also contact Board members for assistance.