Cash-strapped and seeking new sources of revenue, FairfaxCounty's public school system is again reaching out to the privatesector.
The Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce unveiled plans Tuesday fora new nonprofit foundation that would allow companies to donatemoney to benefit the county's public schools. Stuart Mendelsohn, thechamber's outgoing chairman and a partner with the law firm Holland& Knight, said during the group's annual luncheon that a 'moreformal announcement' about the foundation would come this summerand that the new nonprofit would fill a 'much-needed' void.
But the new foundation raises questions about the future of thecounty's chief education nonprofit entity, the Fairfax EducationFoundation, which was formed in Falls Church in 1983 by a group ofarea business leaders. Since its creation, the technology-focusedgroup has raised and contributed roughly $23 million in cash andhigh-tech equipment for more than 30 county school projects. Butdonations to the organization have fallen sharply since 2004, whendonors gave nearly $600,000.
The foundation also has been locked in a long-running battle withschools Superintendent Jack D. Dale and Fairfax County School Boardmembers, who say it has done little in recent years to boost theschool system's reduced revenue.
Last year, the foundation received $329,891 in cash and in-kindcontributions, according to financial records on file with thefederal government. Its sole paid employee, Chief Executive James S.Rosebush, was paid $130,000 in salary in 2009, which issimultaneously listed as payment for fundraising performed byRosebush and his Washington firm, GrowthStrategy.
Members of the school board have been especially critical of thefoundation's fundraising efforts, calling them too focused ontechnology initiatives, and of the salary paid to Rosebush, 61, whowas an assistant to President Ronald Reagan and first lady NancyReagan and who started a financial management company more than twodecades ago.
School Board member Judith 'Tessie' Wilson (Braddock) said sheexpected the new education nonprofit organization to 'supplant theold' Fairfax Education Foundation. 'After this most recent budget, Ihad a lot of parents come up and ask me, 'Well, how can I give moneyto keep some of these programs?' ' Wilson said. 'The way the oldstructure worked, it wasn't tapping into many of the corporationsthat wanted to invest in our schools. This gives them a new option.'
Rosebush said that he was 'not aware' of the new nonprofit's formation and that the Fairfax Education Foundation's trustees wouldbe 'discussing and researching how best to move forward.' ButRosebush also said the foundation has pursued contributors on a'project-by-project basis,' pointing to a distance-learning programstarting this year that purchases video-conferencing equipment forclassrooms.
Fairfax's public schools approved a $2.2 billion budget lastmonth that cuts 200 positions, introduces new fees for sports andAdvanced Placement tests, and gets rid of programs that havesupported some of the county's poorest schools. The school system'supcoming budget is about $35 million less than last year's.
'We have worked tirelessly to raise money, and we will continueto work to achieve innovative technology solutions for theclassrooms of Fairfax County,' Rosebush said.
Tensions between the foundation and the school system have beenbrewing for years. In March 2008, Dale asked the foundation torevamp itself and focus on 'cutting-edge opportunities for ourstudents, our teachers and our schools,' according to a memo hewrote to its board. In that letter, Dale also asked for $145,000 infunding for two school programs that had recently lost county andgrant support.
But little was done, Dale said, and he resigned from the FairfaxEducation Foundation's board last year.
kravitzd@washpost.com
Staff writer Michael Alison Chandler contributed to this report.
