Sign up for newsletter

June 16, 2003

Funding Success Stories

Learn how districts are finding money for technology in a time of widespread budget cuts.

By Susan Brooks-Young

USA Today reports that 31 states are facing serious budget shortfalls. Now more than ever, it's important that technology programs be woven throughout the fabric of instructional programs, not viewed as a dispensable luxury. "Take charge," advises Sara Fitzgerald, vice president of communications for Funds for Learning. "Don't lurch from funding source to funding source. Districts that successfully raise funds have coherent fiscal plans and strong local support." Read on to see how two school districts are meeting today's financial challenges to fund technology initiatives.

Tapping into Senior Experience

Over the last 30 years, a number of retirement communities have been established in Beaufort County, S.C., raising an interesting dilemma for the school district. Statistically, 95 percent of all retirees vote in every election, and they seldom approve school bonds. How could the district gain the confidence and support of the community when 75 percent of the population was over 50 years old?

At the same time, Beaufort County's school district has been expanding due to an influx of younger adults working in the broadening service industries. While voters passed one referendum for school construction in the 1980s, they soundly defeated a second in 1994. Superintendent Herman K. Gaither, then deputy superintendent, decided to work with the community to bolster local support.

Using focus groups, one-on-one conversations with community stakeholders, and other data collection strategies, district officials learned the public was not convinced the quality of the education being provided by the district merited their support. Based on these findings, Gaither developed a plan to change community members' perceptions of the district by engaging them in the work of local educators.

District officials began by approaching the residents of Sun City Hilton Head, one of the largest retirement communities in the county. The idea: capitalize on the residents' skills and educate them about the school system by recruiting them to volunteer in the classroom and sit on advisory boards and committees. In return, student groups such as bands, choruses, and athletic teams made appearances at functions sponsored by Sun City. This partnership, along with similar programs in other retirement communities in the county, has produced amazing results. In the last eight years, voters in Beaufort County have approved two referendums for $120 million each.

John C. Williams, the district's executive director of communications, attributes this transformation to the fact that all residents are encouraged to be active participants in the district. In the process, they get a firsthand understanding of where their taxes are going. Along with building more facilities, funds from both referendums have been used to provide a robust technology infrastructure for the schools. In fact, one strong facet of the school-community partnership today is a feature on the district Web site where students may post questions to the community about various topics of study, then engage in e-mail or threaded discussion exchanges with local experts.

Executive director of educational technology Anne Carver identifies another strategy for keeping technology funding levels stable: the district commits approximately $2 million per year from the general fund for ongoing technology costs.

Building Lasting Relationships

In 1995, the board and administration of Western Heights School District in Oklahoma City realized they had failed to keep pace with technology use at their seven school sites. Knowing that a large infusion of cash was required to bring its infrastructure up to speed, the district developed a fiscal plan for supporting technology initiatives that today relies on four strategies: bond elections; a local sales tax initiative called MAPS for Kids; in-kind support through business partnerships; and planning for total cost of ownership.

Western Heights School District voters have passed eight bond measures in the last six years, with an impressive 75 percent to 85 percent approval rate. Funds from bonds and federal programs alone have enabled the district to invest $12 million in technology improvements. Their secret? As with Beaufort, they found community buy-in to be key. The district formed a 24-member Citizens' Advisory Committee comprising businesses, teachers, administrators, and parents to collectively identify needs within the school district and make recommendations about funding. Thanks to the informal networking efforts of committee members, voters were able to understand how the bond money would be used to improve schooling. As a result, they passed a $9 million bond measure in 1995, of which $4.5 million went toward the district's technology infrastructure.

Superintendent Joe Kitchens explains that taxpayers are more willing to support initiatives that are suggested by the community and that do not raise taxes beyond the initial hike in 1995. And so, as bond issues expire, the committee proposes additional multifaceted bonds that are structured so the cost to taxpayers is the same as the initial bond. While taxes don't decrease with passage of each new bond, they also don't increase.

Along with the successful bond elections, Western Heights is one of 28 metropolitan school districts that benefit from a program initiated shortly after the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. Originally called MAPS, it was approved as a one-cent sales tax that would fund major projects in downtown Oklahoma City. MAPS was so successful that when it expired city leaders suggested a similar program, MAPS for Kids, that would allow area school districts to upgrade their facilities. Voters agreed, and in 2001 they extended the sales tax an additional seven years. Kitchens's district has used its share of the funds for technology-related projects, including infrastructure upgrade and expansion.

The remaining two strategies, partnerships and planning for total cost of ownership, are successful because they focus on how funds are allocated rather than on generating outside revenue. For example, the district's longtime partnership with Intel focuses on finding solutions for seamless technology integration. The current project involves Intel engineers working with district technicians to make the existing student information system and instructional management system "communicate" with each other, therefore avoiding the significant costs associated with replacing an entire system.

Investing in hiring well-trained technicians who can provide virtually all technical support in-house reduces overall TCO costs. The IT staff currently consists of six employees: three provide technical support to the school sites and three are specialists (Web services, video development, and a Microsoft Certified Software Engineer). Because the specialists have the expertise to use the network to its full capacity, the three technicians maintaining the 2,000 school-site computers are able to provide 48-hour turnaround support.

Kitchens says the district's success springs from building relationships based on confidence and respect. The five-member school board, the advisory committee, the business partners, and the community work together to identify needs and find solutions.

To learn how the Chicago Public Schools restructured to maximize its funding opportunities, read "Restructuring for the Better".

A listing of grants you might be eligible for is provided in "Directory of Funding Opportunities".

Susan Brooks-Young is an educational consultant and writer.

Read other articles from the June Issue

Send a letter to the Editor in response to this article.