R-5 Board talks over fundraising policies

By Ralph Pokorny

Nevada Daily Mail

According to a survey conducted by Nevada High School athletic director Kevin McKinley, local businesses are approached an average 4.5 times per month or 40.5 times during a typical school year for donations by a school group.

McKinley told the Nevada R-5 Board of Education during their monthly meeting Wednesday night that this survey was the result of conversations he had a couple of years ago with his brother-in-law and R-5 school board member Scott Kennedy.

The recent vote to build a new multi-purpose building, performing arts center and repair Wynn Gymnasium also factored into the effort.

"We are given an ample athletic budget, so I have to question the need for additional fundraising," he said.

However, many of the fundraising activities do serve valid purposes, he said, noting that activities like the Dig Pink events the volleyball team does, the All-Sports Booster Club events McKinley's wife Julie runs, Relay for Life and many other activities all serve worthwhile purposes.

In response to a question, McKinley told the board the All Sports Booster fundraising activities raises about $5,000 and the alumni football golf tournament raises about $4,000.

McKinley said he is going to try to end third-party solicitations, like the sports schedule posters that Win Publishers has done in the past, selling the advertising and giving the athletic department several thousand dollars in return.

McKinley said these types of fundraisers were the most disliked by local businesses, according to the survey.

After this fall, he said, Pam Earnest and her cheerleaders plan to publish calendars, with the proceeds going to the cheerleaders and Special Olympics. In the past, the athletic department received about $2,500 from the posters that he used for incidental expenses.

"I think that's a great idea, that we can do this ourselves," Nora Quitno, R-5 school board president, said.

"As a business owner I would like to see it more like the way we run the foundation. I could write a $500 check and you divvy it up. That way I know where it's going," board member Steve Cubbage said.

McKinley told the board that organizers of athletic fundraising activities will need to file a request with him a week before the activity.

"I want to have a file on what are legitimate fundraisers," he said.

That way, when a business asks about a fundraising request, he will be able to tell them if it is legitimate, he said.

"I'm not looking to eliminate any worthwhile fundraising. I want to slow down the door traffic into businesses," he said.

In the superintendent's report, Dr. David Stephens told the board that repairs on Wynn Gymnasium are under way and he expected to break ground for construction of the multi-purpose building and the performing arts center in mid-September, with actual construction starting in October.

Stephens also introduced Dr. Phillip Witt, Nevada Regional Technical Center director, to the board.

In other business the board:

*Voted 6-0, with Amanda Fisher absent, to appoint Nora Quitno as the Missouri School Board Association alternate delegate.

* Voted 6-0 to approve the free and reduced lunch press release.

* Voted 6-0 to set the R-5 district's tax rate hearing for 7:30 a.m., Aug. 20 at the Central Office.

* Voted 6-0 to adopt a resolution in support of the MSBA's "Vision Project."

* Voted 6-0 to approve designating the $850,000 from the Maxwell Trust for the construction of the performing arts center capital project.

* Voted 6-0 to approve the settlement agreement and release from Great Southern Bank.

* Voted 6-0 to approve the agreement between the district and the construction manager as adviser.

* Voted 6-0 to hold a special board meeting Aug. 2, at 7:30 a.m., to approve asphalt bids.

During a closed session, the board voted 6-0 to approve hiring KA'Sandra Leer as LPN instructor; Anne McEachern-Wright as high school foreign language instructor; and Joyce Keatts as Heartland Tittle II D.

The board also approved the transfer of Dan Lurten from Title II.D at Heartland to special education; Ryan Watts from Heartland special education to high school social studies; and the resignation of Marilyn Seislove as high school cashier.