The Upper Adams Canner Funds is taking steps to become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the hopes that it will be able to support the school district in a bigger way.
Tom Wilson, former school board member and current president of the Canner Funds, addressed the school board’s business and operations committee Tuesday.
“We see the potential to do much, much more for the Upper Adams School District,” Wilson said. “The 501(c)(3) status opens the doors to larger donors, allowing Canner Funds to support larger projects.”
By becoming a nonprofit, the Canner Funds would be able to access grants and accept tax-deductible donations.
Through community donations, the Canner Funds currently support grants for classroom activities, a student scholarship, school building grants, Color Day events, an annual teacher breakfast, refreshments for graduates, and some transportation expenses.
According to Wilson, the Canner Funds distributed about $18,000 in support to the district last year. Most of the money they raise comes from the Adams County Giving Spree.
The Canner Funds have a “symbiotic relationship” to the district but operate independently from it, Wilson said.
The Canner Funds started about 15 years ago when Upper Adams administrators donated their salary increases to the cause.
“Everything that we’ve been able to do to date, I want to emphasize, is due to the generosity of the community,” Wilson said.
Wilson said they would also like to be designated as an educational improvement tax credit program. This would allow qualified businesses to donate a portion of their state tax to the Canner Funds with no additional cost to the business.
Amanda Markle, head of the distribution committee for the Canner Funds, said now is the time to make the move to become a nonprofit.
“The vast majority of philanthropic dollars are coming from organizations, from larger companies and from major gift donors,” she said. “Right now, for the most part, all three of those are not available to the Canner Funds board. We don’t really have the capacity, as we are now as an organization, to go after those dollars.”
Markle said they get more classroom grant requests each year. This year, they received 39 applications, and she expects the Canner Funds will be able to support about half of them.
“I wish I had the capacity to fund every single one of these myself,” she said.
To achieve its goals, the Canner Funds board is updating its bylaws and mission statement, updating the board structure and seeking new members, and meeting with other education foundations.
Interim Superintendent Don Bell asked the school board to consider lending the district solicitor’s services to the Canner Funds board and covering legal fees to assist in this process. Bell estimated the fees would be less than $2,500 but said he would get back to the board with firm numbers.
The school board will consider the request at a future voting meeting.
School board candidate, daughter speak out
In other business Tuesday, a school board candidate and his daughter criticized the board — and some community members — for “divisive” behavior.
Matthew Lustig, a Republican running in the May 20 election, spoke alongside his 15-year-old daughter, Aniela.
Matthew Lustig’s father, Loren Lustig, serves on the school board. He did not attend Tuesday’s meeting.
Aniela identified herself as a freshman who has taken a mix of online classes and been homeschooled. She attended the Upper Adams Intermediate School in fifth and sixth grade.
“Over the past year, a small group of public, apparently almost all of them from a more liberal perspective, have made divisive statements that imply that people…who don’t personally have a child or grandchild in Upper Adams schools should have less of a voice.”
She said board member Jim Lady, at a previous meeting, “went out of his way” to note that she is homeschooled, “as if to imply that my family’s input somehow matters less.”
Aniela told the board they were elected to represent the entire community, including those who do not have children enrolled in public school.
Matthew Lustig described a “small but very vocal faction” of the community over the past year engaging in “aggressive, petty comments.”
He said one board member, who Matthew Lustig chose not to identify, recently accused other board members of acting in “total disregard to our community.” Matthew Lustig said the allegation contradicts what he has seen with his own eyes.
“We should be able to discuss difficult issues without slandering one another,” Matthew Lustig said. “I’ve been a conservative Republican my entire voting life, which at this point is almost 30 years. Well, let’s express those opinions in charitable ways. Let’s not lie about or belittle one another in an effort to score cheap political points.”
The next school board meeting is set for May 20 at 7 p.m.
Mary Grace Kauffman, freelance reporter, worked six years as a full-time reporter for newspapers in Pennsylvania and Maryland. She has covered topics including business, crime, education, government and features. Mary Grace has a bachelor's degree in communication/journalism from Shippensburg University. She resides in Adams County.