By the end of March, people involved with sports teams and other kinds of extracurricular activities in District 241 should have a better idea of how to use outside funding to support themselves.

Monday, March 04, 2002

By the end of March, people involved with sports teams and other kinds of extracurricular activities in District 241 should have a better idea of how to use outside funding to support themselves.

At tonight’s school board meeting, board members will hear the first reading of a proposed new policy governing the acceptance of donations of money. Board members and administrators have been working on creating a policy since January, using policies from other districts in the Big Nine and elsewhere in the state as a model.

According to Bill Leland, school board member, the focus of their workshops has been on creating a formal way to review gifts of money that are offered to the district.

Among their concerns are the motives of the donors in offering the gift. Board members don’t want to create any situations that lead to unfair treatment of some groups compared to other groups, Leland said.

&uot;We need to avoid showing favoritism towards any one group,&uot; he said.

Among the issues that district officials will try to address with the new policy are the long-term future of the group being funded with non-district dollars and the overall goals and objectives of the district. The policy would also need to protect the district from accepting gifts that end up costing the district more of it’s own money, said Leland.

At their meeting on Feb. 19, the board tabled a proposal from the dance team to continue to compete using outside funding next year. Others have also asked about using outside funding, and have been waiting for the school board to create rules about gifts, including supporters of cross country, marching band, show choir and other activities cut by the school board last December.

In other business, the board:

– Will hear presentations about music programs and an art project at Southwest Middle School.

– Recognize the finalists for this year’s District 241 Teacher of the Year award.

– Approve the district’s contract with custodial staff and complete the structural balance agreement on the contract required by the state.