You and Your School
Greetings from Tracy Area Public Schools.
This is an exciting time of year as students and staff will be taking time to visit family and friends and enjoy the holidays. Unfortunately, many of our families struggle to make ends meet, and the holidays can be an especially challenging time of year. On a bright note, it is so nice to see the generosity of our community during the holidays. We have been very fortunate to receive gifts from community members and businesses for a variety of worthwhile causes.
An area that has earned significant contributions since 2012 is the Tracy Area Education Foundation.
The Mission Statement of the Foundation is “To provide a secure and trustworthy means for accepting and channeling charitable donations to promote educational excellence and personal growth for students attending Tracy Area Public Schools.”
The foundation board is made up of 12 local members. Currently on the board is Eric Fultz, Chad Anderson, Tom Hook, Ed Carter, Patty LeClaire, Darcy Carlson, Seth Schmidt, Brenda Bengtson, Mary Arnold and Jesse James. The board is currently looking for a couple new members.
If you are interested in being part of the committee, you may contact anyone on the board. The board president is Eric Fultz, vice president is Tom Hook, treasurer is Ed Carter, and secretary is Brenda Bengtson.
There are two different funds within the foundation. First is the Endowment Fund. The Endowment fund is like a savings account. The endowment gifts are invested and never spent, only income generated from the original gifts is spent in a way that benefits our children and the district. The endowment fund ensures a permanent, stable revenue stream and, when large enough, will help fund the future district projects. This endowment fund currently has $191,442. The second fund is the Non-Endowment Fund, which is the project fund. This is like a checking account. Both the principal and income are spent to fulfill immediate needs. Until our endowment is large enough, this project fund will be used to assist the school with projects as money becomes available and needs surface. The Tracy Area Education Foundation has contributed to choir robes, band uniforms, stage lighting, Wi-Fi for busses, internet hot-spots, software programs, the courtyard project, new iPads at TAES, front entrance updates at TAHS, a Drone for Engineering and Design Class, contributions to the grand piano, motivational speakers for students, robots for the Elementary Lego League Team and the Panther statue in the front vestibule at TAHS. The foundation also has contributed to the “Innovative Incentive Grants,” which are grants teachers write to apply for new and innovative strategies in their classrooms.
If you are interested in donating to the Education Foundation please contact me and I will be happy to visit with you about your options. I would also encourage people or groups to that have specific ideas in mind to pool your resources and work together to accomplish a certain goal. A great example is how our music boosters helped promote and contribute to the purchase of new band uniforms and choir robes. This would not have happened so quickly without their involvement and support.
The Tracy Area is a compassionate, caring, and supportive community to live and raise a family. We are very fortunate to have so many people that are willing to donate time and resources to help our school and students have a happy, healthy, and wellrounded educational experience. Thank you for all your support and donations! Together, we can all make a positive impact on the lives of our children!
