The Rutherford County Schools Education Foundation was founded in 2010 for the purpose of supporting the Rutherford County Schools efforts to provide a world-class education for all of our students. Specifically, our foundation seeks to provide resources beyond those available through traditional education funding streams so that our students may have every opportunity to be successfully prepared for college and for competition in a global workforce.
Declining tax revenues over the past several years have led to over seven million dollars cut from our local school system's budget. Despite significant efforts to maximize energy, transportation, and administrative efficiency, escalating energy and insurance costs have continued to increase the cost of educating our students. If our schools continued to depend solely on tax revenues to fund innovative programs, we would be years, if not decades, away from any substantive new opportunities for our students. Given Rutherford County's unemployment being among the highest in the state, nationwide dropout rates being far too high, and the rapidly changing world economy, the costs of simply watching and waiting are unacceptably high.
The possibilities for our foundation are unlimited. Successful foundations in neighboring counties have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars of support for their students and teachers. By becoming a supporter of our foundation, you and/or your business can be a part of life-changing opportunities for the students of Rutherford County. Teacher grants for innovative projects, and student scholarships are examples of some areas of involvement our foundation plans to pursue. We have supported and will continue to support the bold move the Rutherford County Schools took to provide a twenty-first century learning environment for all its students. Students in kindergarten through twelfth grade are using cutting edge learning tools daily such as Promethean Boards, Interactive Software, and Student Laptops. Simply stated, the success of our efforts depends upon the support of our community.