Grant from Community Foundation Ketselman Fund Allows Priority School to Continue

MUNCIE, IN - The Harry L. and Janet M. Kitselman Donor-Advised Fund within The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc., recently provided a $50,000 underwriting grant for Priority School operations for the 2007-2008 academic year.  The seven school districts - Cowan, Daleville, Delaware, Liberty-Perry, Mt. Pleasant, Muncie and Wes-Del will share the remaining $300,000 program cost on a grades 6-12 enrollment pro-rated, per-capita basis. 

Based on the success of this innovative approach for keeping students in school, all of the original school districts mentioned above elected to continue Priority School at the Youth Opportunity Center facility.  Ball State University’s Burris School, did not elect to participate in the Priority School for the 2007-2008 school year.  

The remaining seven school corporations mentioned above have entered into a formal, two-year cooperative joint services agreement to fund Priority School on a pro-rated enrollment basis while seeking external funds to subsidize program costs. The Muncie Community Schools will now assume the unpaid role of fiscal agent for Priority School, a service that was previously provided by The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. 

The most apparent positive results from this program have been improved school attendance, increased graduation rates for the students in the program, and improved understanding of appropriate behavior in a school setting. Priority School is an excellent example of cooperative-consolidated government services.  Rather than each public school district sustaining the expense of operating its own alternative programs for suspended or expelled students, this cost-effective approach provides excellent use of limited public resources and serves students in one centrally located facility. 

In the Spring Semester of the 2001-2002 academic year, all eight public school districts in Delaware County and the Youth Opportunity Center started a cooperative effort by creating an alternative education program for their middle school and high school students who were identified for suspension or expulsion from their home school.  This new innovative program at the time, called Priority School, received funding from a Lilly Foundation-Community Alliance to Promote Education (CAPE) Grant administered by The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc.  These initial resources sustained the program through the end of the 2006-2007 school year and now the $50,000 underwriting grant for Priority School operations will provide for this alternative education environment for 2007-2008.  
 

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