Aging Ahead leased the cafeteria/gym to provide services for the community’s senior citizens.
older—leased the cafeteria/gymnasium to provide ser- vices to our local senior citizens. The program was so well received that we have had to add more parking to support citizens’ interest in programs such as bingo, aerobics, and pickleball. Aging Ahead also added food service equipment in the cafeteria, where the organization prepares daily meals for homebound senior citizens throughout Jefferson County, Missouri. In 2014, the district partnered with Comtrea, a not-
for-profit county agency committed to providing mental health, dental, and comprehensive medical care to fami- lies in Jefferson County.
The district had a positive working relationship with Comtrea and referred Comtrea’s services to our families; however, some families were still not getting the care they needed.
When the district restructured and added a second mid- dle school in 2014, an entire wing of one middle school was left unoccupied. The board of education and district administrators proposed a partnership with Comtrea to allow Comtrea to lease the open wing and construct a comprehensive health clinic that would provide mental health, dental, and medical services to the community. Today, Comtrea provides services for students and their families Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Two full-time district employees transport stu- dents from their schools to the clinic to receive treatment during the school day. In the evening and on weekends, Comtrea services are available to the larger community.
Partnering to Support the School Community
School budgets get tighter and tighter as state and local governments reduce taxes and approve legislation detri- mental to public education. Unfortunately, many districts look to their student activity/athletic programs when they need to reduce their budgets.
10 JULY/AUGUST 2021 | SCHOOL BUSINESS AFFAIRS
District parents gathered to discuss the attributes of a Northwest graduate. The data were used to update the Northwest R-1 mission statement.
That was the case for Northwest in 2015 when the district failed to pass an operating levy tax increase. In total, the district reduced the overall budget by $2.6 mil- lion, which included an $80,000 reduction to the activi- ties budget.
Reducing the budget by $80,000 was manageable.
Still, it meant that students wouldn’t have new equip- ment and uniforms, and the number of travel tourna- ments and games had to be reduced significantly. To generate additional revenue to support student activities, district administrators capitalized on their rela- tionship with the Northwest Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce to launch a sports marketing program and to share their stories with the local businesses. The program was simple: Businesses paid into the program and received branding opportunities in print advertisements, static signage on school campuses, pub- lic address announcements at games and programs, and logos displayed on scoreboards. The sports marketing program generated $277,925 over the past six years, and those funds have gone directly into programs and activi- ties that support students.
Making a Stronger Community
Developing local partnerships and establishing quality relationships make the entire community stronger. The resources yielded from these relationships allow the dis- trict to improve and even add student programs during tight fiscal times.
Geoffrey Macy is the chief operating officer for the Northwest R-1 School District in High Ridge, Missouri. Email: gmacy@
northwestschools.net
asbointl.org
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