By Isabela Rzeznik
Staff Writer

Public schools are funded through government money, a well-known fact to anyone living in the United States. So why is the Morgan County Foundation for Excellence in Public Education, Inc. fundraising for Morgan County Primary School, Elementary, Middle and High schools? Actually, the answer is in the name, according to Dr. Stan DeJarnett, a member of board of MCFEPE and former superintendent of the Morgan County School System: to bring excellence to public education in Morgan County schools. In order to keep progressing and flourishing, it is essential that the schools continue to advance the education offered.
Formed as a non-profit organization, MCFEPE receives and maintains funds for exclusively educational purposes. Founded in Jan. 2010, MCFEPE set out with a simple and specific goal: to raise money for programs that the public schools in Morgan County might otherwise be unable to pay for.
“We are not in the business of deciding which projects get funding,” explained DeJarnett. Instead, the board of MCFEPE works with the Board of Education and school system’s leaders to finance the programs the Board of Education implements to enhance the educational experience of students in Morgan County.
As of now, just over $2,800 has been donated to the school system, explains Elizabeth Bell, the chair of the board of the MCFEPE. The funding is for the experimental phase of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program for MCPS, MCES and MCMS. They have also taken over the dispersal of funds for the dissolved Academic Booster Club, a scholarship program for MCHS. The board is determined to bring the best to the schools in Morgan County and to help fund new programs put into practice by the schools.
 “We are relativity new and are trying to get our name out there,” said DeJarnett. As of now, MCFEPE has been fundraising semiannually, through mail-outs or letters. If you would like to make an investment into the future of Morgan County and the country, you can donate through the MCFEPE website, www.mcfepe.org. MCFEPE hopes to expand their funding base and plans to use innovative ways to raise money.
“Our mission really is funding educational programs,” said Bell.

Printed in the July 26, 2012 edition.