SNOW HILL – A nonprofit staff position funded by Worcester County Public Schools is a cause for concern for at least one elected official.
At the close of Tuesday’s meeting, which included a presentation from the local child advocacy center, Commissioner Chip Bertino highlighted the fact that while that nonprofit relied on grants to stay open, the county’s school system included in its budget a position for the nonprofit Worcester County Education Foundation (WCEF).
“I just question that and I think that there are a lot of worthwhile organizations within our community that don’t have the luxury of having their executive director being paid for by taxpayers,” Bertino said.
On Tuesday, representatives from the CRICKET Center, Worcester County’s child advocacy organization, provided an update on their efforts to provide support and services to children who are crime victims. The center’s director said that while it was a state mandated organization, it was entirely grant funded.
Bertino referenced the presentation when it came time for comments from the commissioners. He said he mentioned it because the commissioners had been made aware that the Worcester County Board of Education paid for the cost of the Worcester County Education Foundation’s staff position.
“It just seems to me to be a little incongruent when we have worthwhile nonprofits throughout this county and we heard of one and saw one and experienced one today—that taxpayers are not funding that, but taxpayers are funding a nonprofit organization within the board of education that has over a million dollars in reserves,” he said.
Questions about the WCEF staff position were included in a list of budget items the commissioners asked the school system to address last month.
The school system’s response to county officials explained that the position, that of manager of operations and community relations, was a full-time position with benefits that was funded by the school system.
“This position is the single staff member for an organization that has fundraised more than one million dollars,” the school system response stated. “To date the Education Foundation has donated back over $256,199 directly to the school system over the past 9 years. We expect this year’s direct donation back to the school system to be around $120,000, capping over $385,000 in donations.”
While the commissioners’ letter asked if it made sense for the county to fund the position, the school system’s response indicated that would be left up to the foundation’s board and the school system.
“This is a challenging question to answer and one that the Board of Directors and the School system will come to a common agreement around based on financial advice of several financial advisors that work with the Board of Directors for the Education Foundation,” the response reads. “The goal is to have an endowment in addition to the considerable yearly donations, which can pay the salary for the single staffer from the endowment, as well as the yearly donations to the school system. This allows for the school system to continue to receive donations at the current level, and hopefully beyond, in perpetuity.”
When asked this week about the position and how it came to be funded by the school system, Carrie Sterrs, the school system’s coordinator of public relations and special programs, addressed the creation of the foundation.
“As to the historical context of this position, under the direction of then-Superintendent of Schools Jerry Wilson, then-Chief Operations Officer Lou Taylor was charged as part of his job duties to establish the Worcester County Education Foundation,” she said. “To support this effort, during the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the school system began providing additional compensation to an Educational Assistant (EA) position to handle Foundation related support. As the Foundation has grown, the position’s duties were refocused to managing not only the Foundation’s day to day operations, but facilitating the programs within our schools that the Foundation funds. These programs include, but are not limited to, the visiting artists series, teacher grant program, and the annual financial support request by the Board of Education.”
According to its website, the WCEF was created in 2013 to provide a perpetual funding resource that could be used to make sure every student has equal access to a high-level education that would allow them to function in the digital college environment and to compete in emerging job markets.
According to the nonprofit’s website, 46% of Worcester County Public Schools students are living at or below the poverty level so WCEF aims to enhance achievement to ensure all students are prepared for future success.
