History of the Foundation
The Clinton Central School District Foundation took root in the fall of 1990, when the Board of Education established a Revenue Task Force and charged it with investigating ways of generating money from sources other than local taxes to help fund education in the District. Part of the committee's discussion focused on the possibility of starting a non-profit, independent foundation to raise funds for education through donations and other activities. Such a group, it was felt, would be modeled on the fundraising efforts that traditionally generate money for private higher education.
The school board's Task Force appointed a subcommittee to look into the possibilities. Because it was believed the support of the District's alumni would be crucial to this effort, the subcommittee - Doug Burrows, Dan Beigel and Dave Dupont - enlisted Annette Foley, president of the Alumni Association, as a fourth member. An attorney, Chris Fox, and an accountant, James Rishel, volunteered to help the foundation become incorporated and recognized as a not-for-profit corporation. Clinton's Foundation was patterned after that of a similar public school effort taken on in the West Irondequoit Central School District outside of Rochester.
At the time, the committee envisioned the foundation raising funds for specific student needs - the purchase of library books, laboratory equipment, and money to support the non-athletic extracurricular activities or the gifted and talented program. What projects would be funded, the committee established, would be decided after consultation with the Board of Education.
The School Board was receptive to the ideas of the subcommittee and appointed Foley, Burrows, Beigel and Dupont as founding directors. Then- Superintendent Dr. James Torrance said of the newly-formed and independent group: "The foundation is really about allowing us to go beyond our budget."
An organizational meeting was held October 9, 1991. The directors formally adopted the renovation of the original high school bell tower (now part of the Middle School complex) as its first project. From that point on, the Foundation's fundraising efforts and projects have multiplied and continue to grow thanks to the strong support and guidance of the of the alumni and community.
Since its inception, the Clinton Central School District Foundation has donated over one million dollars to the Clinton Central School District!