Deer Lakes Lancer Foundation founders plan next steps in effort to augment funding

Deer Lakes School District has a brand new toddler.

At least that’s how school board members Jeremy Love and Eric Bieniek see the new Deer Lakes Lancer Foundation.

Love began researching how to start the foundation in March, when the board was holding budget discussions.

“We were just trying to figure out different avenues of funding for the school … for the students, for the teachers, to supplement the little things the budget doesn’t cover,” Love said. “It just grew from there.”

Those “little things” the foundation was created to fund include educational technology for teachers to use in the classroom; items the athletics and arts programs may need; teacher mini-grants; and other various student needs, such as scholarships, Bieniek said.

As an example, he used a teacher requesting technology for the classroom.

“We can cover the budget version of that (technology) because that’s what we have right now,” Bieniek said. “We wanted to create a mechanism to supplement that minimum and then add so they can get the optimal.”

Being able to help fund these things is a bit of a ways off, though. Board members approved the foundation during their meeting last month.

“We have a toddler that’s bumbling around now, who’s very interested in the world,” Bieniek said. “Now we have to teach it how to be a nonprofit that’s going to raise money for the school.”

Love began the creation process with a presentation, developed with the help of his daughter Selah, and subsequently formed a committee to put the wheels in motion.

Along with Love and Bieniek, the committee includes: Chuck Bellisario, athletic director; Angela Manno, office secretary; Vic Laurenza, former board member; Superintendent Janell Logue Belden; Larry Neidig, board president; and Bradley Snyder, district business manager.

Love took inspiration and pulled features from foundations in other school districts, including Freeport Area, Allegheny Valley, Franklin Regional, North Allegheny and Blackhawk.

“We’re not the first to do this, but it’s not a standard either,” Bieniek said.

At first, the plan was at a standstill. Love credits Christina Lane, a district parent and attorney, with getting the ball rolling.

“We were stumbling until she came into our second meeting,” Love said.

Lane helped the committee with the legal requirements and paperwork involved in starting a foundation.

The foundation is set up as a nonprofit. It allows the district to accept donations and provide larger companies with the Educational Improvement Tax Credit incentive.

The next steps for the foundation are the development and setup of its mission, Love said. A board needs to be created for the foundation before projects can begin. The board will be determined after Election Day since active school board members can’t sit on the foundation’s board.

“We’ll start small and work our way up,” Love said.

They’re hoping to begin reaching out to corporations, local businesses, community partnerships and other revenue sources to start raising money. Once it’s further developed, the foundation will host events like golf outings, galas and general fundraisers, Love said.

“It’s really about community-based initiative to help bring some needed support to the little fringe things that don’t always get the help they need,” Bieniek said.