Dist. 39 Educational Foundation Endorses Referendum

WILMETTE (March 21, 2011) – The District 39 Educational Foundation supports a “Yes” vote on the upcoming Wilmette Educational Referendum scheduled for the April 5th election, with early voting now in progress.

The District 39 Educational Foundation is an independent non‐profit community organization, made up of volunteers from across the district – those with and without children in District 39 schools. The organization's mission is to raise funds and distribute grants which support innovative educational experiences, programs and technologies across the six district schools and throughout the community. The District 39 Educational Foundation was founded in 1993 and has awarded more than $1 million in grants funding projects such as the outdoor garden learning environments and piloting SMART Board technology, in addition to supporting
programs that have reinforced the importance of math and science for the students in the community.

"As an organization of committed volunteers who are deeply involved in understanding educational best practices, we strongly believe that the proposed cuts required if the referendum does not pass will substantially harm the overall quality of education offered in our community," says Leslie Weyhrich, District 39 Educational Foundation Chair.

Wendy Irwin, 9‐year Trustee and Chair of the Gripp Grant Committee speaks to the significance of the multidisciplinary learning that takes place in District 39 and the importance of teacher collaboration – much, if not all, of which will be lost without the funds requested by the referendum. "If we do not pass the referendum, we will
face a substantial increase in class sizes as well as elimination of large portions of arts, music, physical education and foreign language programming. Additionally, teacher collaboration, where best practices are shared, will be virtually eliminated."

Weyhrich indicated that the Foundation Trustees have listened to presentations from Dr. Ray Lechner, Superintendent of Schools, and School Board Members and have had numerous discussions. They are taking this opportunity to publicly state their support of the referendum and, thus, their commitment to preserving and
maintaining the educational excellence that District 39 has always offered to our children.

The District 39 Educational Foundation feels that it is critical to pass this important referendum in order to continue to serve not only the needs of our community, but most importantly, the needs of our students.

The District 39 Educational Foundation is a non‐profit independent organization dedicated to investing in our children’s future. The Foundation’s Gripp Grants and other initiatives provide funds for educational programs, experiences, and technologies that expand, enrich, and complement the schools’ curricula.

For more information on the District 39 Educational Foundation, contact the Foundation office at 847‐853‐3939 or www.d39foundation.org.