Establishing and supporting a school foundation—a nonprofit 501(3)(c) community organization—is one way in which those who value local education can contribute funds to directly enhance and augment what is happening in local classrooms.

The individuals who fund taxpayer-funded institutions naturally want to make sure that their money is being well spent. School districts have always been particularly popular arenas for public review and comment because, in most communities, a school budget vote is one of the only areas left in our civic lives where citizens can directly vote yes or no on their own taxes.

So it seems likely that unless school administrators find better ways to run their schools more cost effectively, or teachers unions begin to make financial concessions, academic budgets will continue to be relatively lean. For parents and community members who value enrichment in public education—and worry that tight budgets can’t support it—the school foundation is one answer, and there is a very successful example right here in Cold Spring. (Haldane currently spends approximately $23,000 per pupil; the nation’s top 10 school districts “for the buck,” according to Forbes magazine, have per pupil costs of less than $10,100).

The mission statement of the Haldane School Foundation (HSF) states, in part, that the HSF “supports and expands the Haldane educational community … by funding grants for programs, activities, and resources that augment the school’s regular curriculum through collaborations between Haldane and local cultural, historical, scientific, educational, environmental, and philanthropic organizations and by creating partnerships between Haldane and other schools.”

In plain English, this allvolunteer group, now 11 years old, provides financial support for district programs and projects that might not otherwise happen.

HSF board members are typically invited to join the board because of a specific strength or skill that they have to offer, but all board members must attend monthly board meetings, serve on a committee (Grants, HELP, Nominating, Events, Fundraising, Communications, Technology, and Finance), attend four events a year, and help secure auctionable donations.

The gala Snow Ball is the keystone of the foundation’s roster of annual events. This year’s ball was held in mid- March at the Chalet on the Hudson, and netted some $19,000, according to the current foundation president, Dani LoCastro.

LoCastro told the PCN&R that in addition to paying for a litany of small projects that enrich the classroom experiences of Haldane’s students, the foundation also provides seed money for larger programs, such as environmental education, which, if they are well-received, may then move on to become district-funded. “When you’ve got to fix a roof, there is no way you’re also going to get money for an outdoor classroom,” LoCastro explained. “It’s either put up the money yourself or you won’t have it.”

In today‘s tough economic times it is increasingly difficult not only to find potential donors but also to keep the ones they already have. Matching grants programs are an important source of funding, since many corporations will provide matching grants if their employees make donations to the foundation.

The group is also looking at how to tap into the Haldane alumni network, but that requires a comprehensive database of alumni names and contact information that doesn’t yet exist.

Still, HSF is very successful at what it does. The group recently donated $35,300 to Haldane for enrichment programs that affect every student from kindergartners to graduating seniors. Examples are drumming presentations from a world class jazz drummer; painting the Hudson River on the playground; a foreign language immersion weekend; a Hudson Valley Shakespeare presentation; robotic making kits; new sand/water centers; SMART Boards; a moving presentation by a blind poet for Differences Day; five poetry or writing workshops; field trips to Albany, the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Natural History, and Frost Valley; and ‘seed money’ so to speak, for a sustainable garden (see story on page 9).

To see the complete list of projects, go to haldaneschoolfoundation. org.