An endowment concept to
curb the reduction of such things as Art, Music and Physical Education
curricula has been established to reduce financial competition with other
very worthwhile non-profit endeavors. Competition for education dollars is not
an option.
Ohio
Endowment for Art, Music and Physical Education
It’s
All About US…Understanding Stewardship
Purpose:
To propose an alternative plan to pay salaries of specialist teachers from
endowment proceeds in place of tax revenues.
Background:
- Education
budgets are strapped.
- Trend
is a reduction in commitment to non-academic education.
- School
systems necessarily drive increased property taxes.
- Eliminated
non-academic curricula will not return without new operating funds.
- In
some school systems, art, music and gym don't disappear from the
curricula. They are incorporated into regular instruction by
shortening the school day to give teachers additional planning time.
- Other
school districts cut music, art and physical education from elementary
schools but continue them in middle and high school.
Discussion:
- Tax
incentives through donations to charitable endeavors indicate government’s
acknowledgment of being unable to do everything efficiently and
effectively.
- Precedent
for endowments have been set by colleges and universities
- Endowing
“chairs” for support of individual faculty positions
- Donations
to a public charitable endowment become a “compound” investment
- A
donation of $1k only costs the donor/taxpayer $700 if in a 30% tax
bracket, a 43% return on investment as opposed to 100% going all to
taxes.
- The
whole of the $1k donation goes to a fund which is then invested in direct
support of the local economy.
- Returns
from the fund support salaries and benefits to art, music, and physical
education teachers in perpetuity, never reducing the capital investment
of the endowment or requiring additional taxes, bond issues, etc.
- A
target endowment of $1M would provide an investment return adequate to
subsidize a single teacher’s annual salary while injecting that same
amount into the local economy.
Proposal:
- Establish
a target endowment of $1M to realize a 5% return.
- Endowment
assets would be managed locally.
- Investments
would be concentrated in secure investments.
- Income
beyond the principal of the endowment would be used to support salaries
and benefits for teachers on non-academic curricula.
- Accountability
would be monitored by the endowment managers in cooperation with
respective school officials.
