As Iowa schools cope with funding challenges, one eastern Iowa district is considering a unique idea. The Monticello School Board is pondering a plan to allow donors to put their name on a piece of its real estate, for a price.
“It would be from $10,000 to get maybe a room named after them, up through a million dollars to get your name on a building, and anywhere in between,” Superintendent Brian Jaeger says. “You know, we have auditoriums and gyms, libraries, cafeterias, commons area, and so the price varies among all those.”
Jaeger says there isn’t much of a pattern or precedent for a school district to follow. “As far as schools go, there’s not a lot that have put together a plan like this, with as much detail as we’re trying to add to this,” he says. “I think there’s a lot of school districts that are open to, when you have donors who come in and say, ‘I want to donate some money to the school district and how can I do that?’, kind of one-time opportunities without the structure we’re trying to put into this.”
Monticello is building a new middle school which expands the naming opportunities and Jaeger says there’s interest in the community. The school board will consider the idea and may apply sticker prices next month.
(Radio Iowa)