The “Meredith Matters Budget” for School Year 2013-2014
While we continue to spearhead the political fight to fund all schools, we must act now to shelter Meredith from the ongoing funding crisis and present a vision of what we believe our children deserve … not simply the bare minimum they need to survive.
So we are asking each Meredith family that is able to consider donating $670.00 per student, or roughly $56.oo per month over 12 months, toward the “Meredith Matters Budget”. (See how to donate here.) This budget will fully fund…
- A Dean of Students
- A Counselor
- A Foreign Language Teacher
- A Secretary
- A Full-Time Nurse
- Support Staff
- Books and Supplies
- Our Arts Program
- Student iPads for use in all grades
The total for this Meredith Matters Budget is $445,840.00. We can commit $90,000.00 from the Home and School Association account. The balance of $355,840.00 divided equally among the 531 Meredith students comes to $670.00.
We recognize the enormity of this ask and the burden in places on families. We are pursing all possible sources of funding from the government, from corporations and foundations, and from private citizens. This includes the new “Meredith On The Run” 5K Run / Walk fundraiser this September.
Please feel free to contact us via email at meredithhomeandschool@gmail.com.
I wrote to city council members. This is the only response I got – not exactly encouraging.
Maria -
This is a very unfortunate predicament we are in. The school district gave us a balanced budget 4 weeks ago then we hear that they are 180 million short. Either the School District is incompetent or someone is lying. This is really a bad situation. This will not be an easy lift. The district says that we are tripling our taxes and crippling our schools. Not sure of where this money is coming from but it is either raising real estate taxes or cut funding to other departments.
I do not know if any of that is possible at this time.
Councilman Mark Squilla
The political reality is incredibly grim. We need to ramp up a private fundraising plan like never before. Not event planning, but rather straight up asking for money on a regular basis. We can raise the amount being cut before September with a few fundraising workshops and a professional fundraiser retained for a percentage. We are in a “fend-for-yourself” environment. This does not mean we should not advocate in the political process, but, inmho, a lot of our energy should be directed at asking people in our community and outside of our community for money to Save Our School. (SOS).
Our political reality is incredibly grim. The district is not crying wolf, but their credibility is held in a Dixie cup. We should focus on allowing 2-3 elected HSA board members or School Advisory Council members be spokespeople in the political process while everyone else focuses on raising money. We need to ramp up private fundraising like never before. I do not mean event-planning. IMHO, what we need is directly asking for money on a regular basis. We can fund the cuts by September if we start now with a few fundraising workshops, and perhaps a professional development agent held on retainer for a set percentage. We need to directly ask our own community and others connected to our community for money that will Save Our School (SOS). Meredith is a great investment, we are excellent stewards of donations and contributions are tax-deductible. Our needs are urgent and the situation dire. We should be focused on obtaining money only Meredith will control.
Does anyone know of a planned bus trip to Harrisburg for June 6-7? I would be interested in going with other Meredith parents either on our own or with another group. Please let me know ASAP. I will also check with the school on Monday morning.
Hi Lois: You probably saw the email from MHSA late last week, but info is going on here soon, too.