Board recruiting six additional members
Sara Suddes – Staff Writer
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GILROY
After several years of dormancy, the Gilroy Unified School District’s Education Foundation is undergoing a revival of fresh ideas, new leadership and a rejuvenated spirit. Established in 1994, the foundation was created to raise funds for district projects. Over the past 10 years, the foundation has received varying amounts of attention. Recently, the school district expressed the desire to generate more funds and staff has worked to revive the foundation.
Still in it’s embryonic stages, the foundation is short six board members. Only five of the 11 positions on the Board of Directors are currently filled and the existing board members’ foremost goal is to recruit the remaining members called for by the foundation’s bylaws. The current board members will bring their recommendations for candidates to the next meeting, which will be held Wednesday.
“We want people with a vested interest in the school district who represent our diverse community,” board member Leighan Perales said.
“There is no membership, but rather a Board of Directors,” board member Teri Freedman said. “We are being very deliberate about the recruitment process.” During the past 30 years, Freedman has occupied various positions in the GUSD as a teacher at Gilroy High School and public information officer for the district and looks forward to raising funds that directly benefit district staff in the classrooms. The board of directors is looking at a process to fund small classroom grants to teachers, she said. The foundation currently has $39,000 in its treasury and the board wants to see that money put to good use in the classroom. Freedman’s overall goal for the foundation is to generate sufficient resources to provide Gilroy’s students and families with a safe, rigorous and supportive learning environment.
While other educational organizations such as GHS athletics and the Odyssey Theater Company raise money that is granted back to those organizations, the Educational Foundation will secure endowments and grants to be deposited into an unrestricted fund that will provide support for an array of educational purposes. After board membership is finalized, the group will develop a fundraising strategy and timeline, Perales said.
“There have been a few initial ideas kicked around about fundraising,” said Jack Daley, board member and GHS athletic director. “We’ve only had one meeting so it’s a little premature to talk about future plans.”
“The money will come from philanthropic donations and fundraisers,” said Joe DeSalvo who will be serving as the liaison between the Board of Directors and the school district. “We need to reach out to givers of money and philanthropists in our community in a strategic way.”
