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Wamego Public Schools Announce Establishment of USD 320 Foundation
(Dec. 1, 2009) Wamego, KS — Doug Conwell, Superintendent of Wamego Public Schools, announced today the establishment of the USD 320 Foundation.
“The USD 320 Foundation was formed to raise money to support and enhance quality education in Wamego,” Conwell said. “We are hopeful that Wamego alumni as well as friends and supporters of USD 320 will consider supporting our schools by giving to the Foundation.”
Conwell noted that school districts received a cut in state aid of approximately $313,000 this past month and they expect even more cuts to be handed down from the State. Last year the district lost approximately $408,000 in funding due to state budget cuts and the loss of district property valuation.
“Our goal is to raise enough charitable contributions to get through these tough economic times—and beyond,” Conwell said. “Most people already understand how a school foundation works because of charitable giving to university foundations, such as K-State or KU. The USD 320 Foundation works the same way, just on a much smaller scale.”
The school district serves more than 1,300 students in Central Elementary, West Elementary, Wamego Middle School and Wamego High School.
“The quality of life in the Wamego community is well known in this region,” Conwell said. “Wamego offers top-notch health care, great recreation programs, wonderful arts programs and a first class educational system. With the support of our alumni and supporters, we can continue to provide students with an opportunity to develop skills needed to succeed in life.”
According to René Eichem, executive director of the Wamego Community Foundation (WCF), funds donated to the USD 320 Foundation will be managed by the WCF and can be used for educational purposes such as “scholarships, teacher grants, classroom materials and supplies, facility maintenance and improvements, athletics, academic programming, extracurricular activities, technology, professional development, and much more.
“All donations to the USD 320 Foundation are tax deductible as a charitable contribution,” Eichem continued, “and we can accept gifts of cash, stock, real estate, and more.”
For more information about the USD 320 Foundation, please contact the USD 320 office at (785) 456-7642 or the Wamego Community Foundation at (785) 456-8444 or visit www.thewcf.org.
About the Wamego Community Foundation
Since its inception in 1998 as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, the Wamego Community Foundation has received approximately $1.3 million in gifts and donations and has distributed back more than $600,000 to the community, including toward area scholarships, the Wamego City Park Train Enhancement Project, and the Pottawatomie County Recycling Program, just to name a few.
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For more information, please contact:
René Eichem, executive director
Wamego Community Foundation
1004 Lincoln Ave. | P.O. Box 25
Wamego, KS 66547
P: 785-456-8444 | F: 785-456-8443
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