Frequently Asked Questions

The Okemos Education Foundation is a non-profit volunteer organization that has partnered with the school district since 1984 to support our outstanding educational system. We are comprised of a Board of Directors that includes parents, school administrators, teachers, residents, business leaders, and retired adminstrators and teachers.  We have no paid employees.  We raise money to provide funds for programs and activities designed to promote academic excellence that are above and beyond normal school budgetary and operational functions.

We also recognize and support the excellent staff of OPS and the contributions they make to our community. Our two most important programs are:

• The Commitment to Excellence Awards - These awards, bestowed annually, honor educators who demonstrate commitment and innovation that enhance the Okemos Public Schools, and who embody the qualities of excellence.
• Educational Grants – This program awards grants to Okemos educators to encourage innovative and creative teaching, and to provide expanded educational opportunities for students.

To support OEF programs, one of the first actions undertaken by the Foundation was the establishment of the endowment fund. Ultimately, the OEF Endowment Fund will generate enough interest income to support the OEF grant and award programs.   The OEF also conducts an annual fundraising campaign called "Partners in Education" which supports our Educational grants and Commitment to Excellence awards program. 

In recent years, the OEF has also undertaken more targeted fundraising campaigns such as Okemos Cares, and now the Strategic Fund Campaign, to provide even greater financial support to Okemos schools in response to reductions in State funding.  Supporters of the Strategic Fund will also be recognized as part of our Partners in Education recognition program.

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Yes!  The Okemos Education Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.   The OEF's Tax I.D. Number is 382571832.

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Increasing funding for Okemos schools by a fundraising campaign is one of the only ways we have to preserve the high quality education delivered by our schools.  Despite reconfiguring our schools and closing 2 elementary schools for next year, current estimates are placing the budget deficit to be up to $3,200,000 for Okemos schools for 2010-11.  While the OEF has traditionally focused on raising funding to help increase innovation and recognize excellence in our schools, we feel the current financial situation requires immediate action on our part to help soften the impact of such a tremendous budget deficit. 

Regardless of what changes you think need to happen at the State level concerning increasing school funding and/or controlling school costs, none of those changes will happen immediately.  Our kids' education can't wait... which is why it is critical to support the Strategic Fund Drive.

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While the funding crisis does seem to have reached a peak this year, it has been building for a very long time.  Every year since Proposal A passed in 1994, our school funding per student has been reduced and/or stagnant when compared to inflation and the rising costs of health care and pension costs.  Because we are allocated State funding per pupil, Okemos schools has also lost funding due to a loss of students.  Declining enrollment has occurred district-wide as a result of lower birth rates and families moving away due to job loss.  The large cutbacks by the State to per-pupil funding for this school year have exacerbated the situation.

Some have called Michigan schools' funding situation a "death by a thousand cuts".   Over the years, yearly budget reductions have been a persistent obstacle to providing a high quality education.  Many Okemos parents and community members are unaware of the cumulative sum of cutbacks that have been made over the last 10 years because they have happened slowly over such a long span of time and Okemos administrators have done an excellent job at keeping the cuts away from students. 

Unfortunately, future budget cutbacks in Okemos will likely go very deep- very quickly- and have a significant negative impact on student learning.  Now, instead of "death by a thousand cuts", it seems much more likely a large ax will be necessary to balance next year's budget.  In fact, this upcoming year (2010-11) has been referred to state-wide as "the funding cliff" because so many school districts have exhausted their savings (called "fund balances"), and now are at the point that any reductions in state funding will force them to become insolvent.  Okemos has been very conservative in spending as well as aggressive in reducing costs, and luckily, we are not at that point.  But, unless our community's donations can help soften the funding deficit, Okemos students will face greatly reduced educational options and a loss of critical learning resources in the very near future.  We hope that you will help prevent this from happening.

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Funds raised by the Strategic Fund Campaign will be used to target two main areas:

1. Core Academic Subjects: Reading, Science, Mathematics, and Social Science.

The Strategic Fund will provide our students with engaging learning tools that help them succeed in the hard fun of learning these core subjects, including

• Updated textbooks
• Software programs
• High-interest reading materials
• Math manipulatives.

2.  Educationally vital school clubs, field trips and other extracurricular activities.

Some of the most important learning takes place outside of the classroom and after the final bell rings. Extracurricular activities provide students with irreplaceable opportunities to pursue their interests, strengthen their talents, and to acquire important personal and interpersonal skills.

Unfortunately, due to lack of funding many of these invaluable activities were eliminated this year, and many more are at risk next year.

Fortunately, we can restore many of the clubs and activities that have been eliminated and protect surviving programs from next years’ drastic budget cuts with relatively modest investments in our children’s futures.

For example, the $1000 annual stipend for a club advisor can:

• Create a meaningful context in which students develop leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, time-management, communication and lifelong learning skills
• Raise academic aspirations and enable students to discover previously hidden aptitudes, talents and interests
• Permit students to explore possible career fields and discover the real-world relevance of what they are learning in the classroom
• Boost self-esteem and confidence by providing students with public recognition for their efforts

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The committed volunteers who run the music, art, drama, athletic and other booster groups, as well as each school’s parent-teacher organization, are some of the district’s most valuable assets. We encourage you to join or support them with both your time and money. Click here to see contact information for these support groups.

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Okemos Cares was a fundraising drive initiated in 2003/04 in which donors could earmark their donations towards a particular area or program over a two-year period.  At the time, Okemos Schools faced a projected deficit of about $3,000,000 for the 2004/2005 school year, and funding from Okemos Cares ultimately preserved the 5th grade strings program as well as reduced cuts in the Gifted and Talented programs and many other areas.  The presumption at the time was that the State funding would improve, and that Okemos Cares was designed to provide a 2-year buffer until that happened...

Fast-forward seven years and many, many budget cuts and a major school reconfiguration later, and the school-funding scenario has unfortunately not changed too much!   However, the Strategic Fund does have a slightly different focus than Okemos Cares.  The Strategic Fund campaign is a one-year fundraising drive that is targeted towards funding core academic areas and restoring and/or preserving clubs and extracurriculars.  Donations are not earmarked towards specific programs or areas as they were in Okemos Cares.

Incidentally, due to the reconfiguration next year, fifth grade strings will be offered as an elective music class at the upper elementary (Kinawa) and is currently not at risk due to the cost-savings accrued by having all the 5th graders in one building.

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The OEF is very sensitive to the fact that parents are being asked to fund more and more school-related expenses these days.  Parents are bearing a greater share of the burden than ever before due to increased athletic pay-to-play fees, classroom supplies, and field trip costs.

Regardless of this fact, it is an unfortunate truth that Okemos kids will directly suffer from impending budget cuts without additional financial support from parents.  If you care about the quality of education your child receives, the Strategic Fund will help soften the impact of pending budget cuts on the classroom and beyond (clubs and extracurriculars).

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Good question!  Individual school PTOs and booster groups play a very critical role in helping provide necessary funding for our schools.  Oftentimes, OEF grants are combined with funding from and/or overlap some of the same educational areas served by individual PTOs and booster groups.  We strongly encourage you to continue your support of these groups!

The Okemos Education Foundation, however, has a broader mission in that it the supports the needs of the entire school district.   The Strategic Fund provides a venue for supporting district-wide needs, such as possibly providing new textbooks for an entire grade level, than what would be possible from an individual PTO or booster group.

Every student, at every school, has been helped in some way by the efforts of the OEF. 

For example, part of the OEF's core mission is to "promote innovation".   To this end, the OEF provides mini-grants to teachers throughout the district.  And, while usually these grants are used for only one classroom in a single school,  they oftentimes cause a ripple effect throughout the district.  Many advances in technology and learning resources that are now common in all our classrooms began initially as a result of an OEF grant.  The OEF grants provide the spark for further exploration and often ultimately serve the rest of the school district.

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More than any other factor, the level of excellence of the Okemos schools determines the quality of community life, as well as property values. Since we believe everyone has a stake in this crisis, we’re asking parents, alumni, community members and local businesses and professionals to invest in our schools.

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Another good question.

If you are just looking at the situation from a monetary standpoint, you may have noticed that your home's value has declined over the last couple of years.  While some may see the resultant lower tax bill as a blessing, it means a decline in the long-term value of your investment. 

While it's pretty well known that the strength of Okemos schools has helped keep our home values high, it is not known what will happen if that changes... If we care about the value of our homes, it only makes sense to fund our schools at a level necessary to maintain their reputation of excellence, even if that means making a voluntary donation to Okemos schools foundation above and beyond what we already contribute in taxes. 

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The Okemos Education Foundation greatly appreciates the support it receives from local businesses.  Being a relatively small community, Okemos residents are very aware of the businesses that support our schools. 

From a business standpoint, donating to the OEF Strategic Fund creates tremendous goodwill and helps keep Okemos schools strong for future generations of employees and customers! 

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There are many reasons why an Okemos alumni may want to contribute the OEF Strategic Fund! 

If you feel that the education you received at Okemos (both in the classroom as well as in extra-curricular clubs and activities) prepared you with the foundation necessary to succeed and excel after you graduated from high school, then perhaps you would like to help ensure that other 'Chiefs' who follow in your footsteps are given the same opportunity. 

Perhaps there was a special Okemos teacher or coach that had a long-lasting impact on your life- honoring them with a gift to the Strategic Fund (it's an option on the online donation form!) would be a wonderful way to pay tribute.

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Hopefully everyone! See a full list of our supporters HERE.

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The Strategic Fund will use a grant process by which the administration will determine an area of need (possibly new textbooks, clubs at the high school, reading materials, etc.) and will submit a request to the OEF.  The OEF board as a whole will approve the request.  Funds will remain in their respective areas (Core Adademics or Clubs and Extracurriculars) until depleted, even if that spans more than one year.

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The interest from the OEF endowment is not large enough to provide much help at this point.  

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The passion that our community feels for our schools' special programs is truly what makes Okemos such a wonderful place for educating children.  The OEF would love to have the necessary resources to maintain separate collection funds for all the different programs that our supporters value. 

Unfortunately, with the exception of very sizable donations, we feel that tracking and maintaining separate collection funds for different program areas would require more resources than our all-volunteer board can commit to at this time.  It would also have the effect of diluting the overall impact that a larger pool of funds could have for our children. 

If you have a strong interest in supporting a certain program area and wish to explore how the OEF may be able to help, please contact OEF Chair Dean Bolton at chair@oefsite.org.

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The OEF has no paid staff, so our overhead costs are basically only the costs associated with printing and mailing our Partners in Education letters, the OEF newsletter, and minimal webhosting fees.  At this time, all marketing materials are designed and edited by OEF trustees.  The OEF website is created using open source software (free!), and the website design is donated.  The OEF does offset some costs associated with the Awards Banquet.

Because OEF Trustees are personally printing and mailing fundraising literature for the Strategic Fund campaign, there is negligible overhead, and nearly 100% of your tax-deductible donation will benefit Okemos students in the form of Strategic grants.

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1. Contact our state legislative leaders and let them know it’s essential that they address the school funding crisis.
Contact Andy Dillon, Speaker of the House at http://017.housedems.com
Contact Mike Bishop, Senate Majority Leader at www.senate.michigan.gov/gop/senators/contact.asp?District=12

2. Let our local representatives Mark Meadows and Gretchen Whitmer, know that we appreciate their support for fixing the broken school funding system:
Contact Mark Meadows, our state Representative, at http://069.housedems.com
Contact Gretchen Whitmer, our state Senator at http://www.senate.mi.gov/whitmer/
 

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First, thank you for your support!

The list of supporters ticker is manually generated (ie., we type the names in), so your name should appear within a couple of days of our receipt of your donation.  If your name isn't showing up, please contact us using our contact form.

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