The newly-formed Bayfield Education Foundation is solicting its first donations and making its first grant - helping provide summer tutoring programs at all Bayfield schools.
The foundation has been in the works for about a year. Many districts have such foundations, including Durango.
"We've been talking about it for a long time," said Barb Wickman, the group's president and a former president of the Bayfield School Board. "There's insufficient funding for basic programming in the K-12 system." But after surveying civic groups and community members, the group found that people wanted support for education at all levels. So the foundation board is reaching out to Bayfield Early Education Program and Pine River Community Learning Center to see how it can assist those groups.
Another thing the surveys turned up was "fundraising fatigue," Wickman said.
"This is an incredibly generous community, and people are fatigued from it," she said. "We hope we can help alleviate that."
In the long run, the foundation wants to start an endowment.
The group will work with the school district to help identify educational needs, but it is an independent entity, Wickman added. The first donation to the group came from Southwest Ag.
Donors will be recognized on a giant plaque at the new Bayfield Performing Arts Center at BHS, and the first donors of $1,000 or more by the end of this year will be recognized as the Founders Club.
Other officers for the foundation are vice-president Rich Gustafson, a Bayfield parent; Amanda Valdez, another local parent; Valerie Borge, a past school board member; and Derek Hillyer of SWAG, a recent BHS graduate. Paul Piatt, a BHS teacher, is creating the website; and retired educators Sherman and Vera Beyes are also donating their time.
"More volunteers are welcome!" Wickman said.
Donations can be sent to the foundation at PO Box 1658 in Bayfield, and the group can be reached at BayfieldEdFoundation@gmail.com.
