Crete Public Schools Trust Fund
by Kyle McGowan
Approximately 15 years ago, the School Board and then superintendent, Dr. Jody Isernhagen had the foresight to create the Crete Public Schools Trust, Inc. The nonprofit, tax exempt organization was formed for the sole purpose of providing improved educational opportunities which would benefit students and staff. The Trust Fund was fortunate enough this past year to receive some relatively large donations which when combined totaled over $250,000. The current balance for the entire fund is now over $600,000.
A twelve member Board of Directors as well as two non-voting participants, the Superintendent and Business Manager, are responsible for managing and distributing monies. Often times, contributors identify specific uses for their donations. The most common request is to establish scholarship opportunities. The Trust Board annually distributes over 45 scholarships to graduating seniors. An additional annual event is for staff members to submit grants or requests to the Board of Directors for innovative classroom projects and/or school improvement projects. The approved requests have included items such as supplemental reading materials, computer related equipment, defibrillators, stage curtains at the elementary and a grand piano at the high school.
Establishing such a mechanism for patrons, alumni and businesses to direct gifts and memorials to the school has literally benefited thousands of students. The additional dollars are used to support projects that would most likely not be addressed within the district’s general fund. The community of Crete and surrounding area continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to children and the importance of a quality education. I would like to give a special thanks to those community leaders many years ago who started the Trust Board from thin air. It is my hope that we continue to be true to the mission and use the dollars in a manner which will benefit generations of Crete Public Schools students.
