Temperatures are climbing with no rain in sight, but good things continue to happen in the Vail School District. It was Tuesday, May 8th, when three Vail School District (VSD) staff members and nine community members gathered for the first official meeting of the Vail School District Foundation (VSD Foundation).  The VSD Foundation was formed out of the recognition that there is no longer a foundation operating to serve the students and staff of the district.

We are excited to form the Vail School District Foundation.  Our motto as filed and approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission “Providing financial support to further the mission of the Vail School District” sums it up quite well, said Mark Tate, newly elected vice president of the VSD Foundation.

Vail School District Foundation’s first board of directors (left to right, front row) President Anne Gibson, Mary Ann Cleveland, Stacy Winstryg and Linda Feltheim. (Left to right, back row) Ed Buster, Vice President Mark Tate, Secretary Linda Kubiak, Treasurer Pam Kelty, Stuart Douglass, Darcy Mentone, MaRico Tippett and John Carruth. (Photo by Shelby Jones)

The VSD Foundation will seek funding and award monies to provide supplemental resources that will enrich and enhance teaching and learning in the Vail School District.  In partnership with the public and private sectors, the VSD Foundation will financially support creative and innovative programs in the areas of academics, the arts, and extra-curricular activities that engage students and staff.  We love our community and school district and desire to give back, Mark Tate continued.

The Vail School District and the VSD Foundation are in the process of developing a memorandum of understanding, outlining the working arrangement between the two organizations. Included in the agreement is an office space for the foundation at the Vail Education Center located at 13801 East Benson Highway. The agreement is specific in that the VSD Foundation will only raise funds to benefit the students and staff of the VSD. “We are truly excited to see the formation of the VSD Foundation. Some giving can only occur through foundations. The VSD Foundation will provide yet another way for businesses and individuals to provide much-needed support to our teachers and students,” said Vail School District Superintendent Calvin Baker.

The founding members of the foundation as spelled out in the articles of incorporation were John Carruth, Associate Vail School District Superintendent; Anne Gibson, community member; Pam Felty, community member; Linda Kubiak, VSD Director of Community Services; Darcy Mentone, VSD Communications and Public Relations Director; and Mark Tate, community member and elected member of the Vail School District Governing Board. Added to the founding members at the May 8th meeting were new members of the board of directors were six community members and residents of the VSD. They include Ed Buster, Mary Ann Cleveland, Stuart Douglass, Linda Feltheim, MaRico Tippett and Stacy Winstryg.

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