Two West Windsor residents who are heavily involved in community sports programs are trying to resurrect the idea of creating a nonprofit athletic foundation to help fund the district’s athletic facilities.##M:[more]##
The idea will be discussed further during the school board’s next meeting on Tuesday, June 9.
Manny Efstathios and Pat Boyle approached the WW-P school board on May 26, asking the board for their input. They pointed to wanting to help fund the lighting of two new turf fields, which they say could be more beneficial to the teams at both schools.
Boyle told the board the foundation would be set up as a 501c3 nonprofit organization and would be a stand alone entity, separate from the school district.
He said there would be three differences in the way in which the foundation would be organized that would ensure it was successful, and the first was coordinating the efforts with the district. He said the two men have had experience in similar work before, as both are involved in Wildcat Football, and have worked with West Windsor and Plainsboro townships. Boyle has had experience working with the West Windsor-Plainsboro Education Association. And, it would be organized differently so as “we won’t be getting in the way of the booster clubs” or any other organization within the school district, Boyle said.
Also, the types of fundraising efforts would be different from previously explored. The first fundraiser the athletic foundation would hold would be a golf outing, and the second would be a “home tour.”
The third idea the men had would be to create a Hall of Fame for the high schools, in which there could be a list of categories, like best all-around athlete, and students at the high schools can be voted into the categories that would be recognized during a dinner at the end of the school year. This could also serve as a fundraiser, he said.
“There are a lot of things we can do to improve the athletic facilities at the schools,” said Boyle. “We do want to make sure before we go forward, that we have an endorsement from the school board.”
“We understand and will follow the rules and stipulations,” as suggested by the school board, Boyle said.
After the two men presented their idea, they asked for the board’s input. Board member Randall Tucker initiated a motion to put the issue up for discussion at the board’s next meeting on Tuesday, June 9.
