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Annandale board credits Cardinals Rising donations as it approves new positions and accepts donations
Summary
The Annandale school board accepted May donations and approved several staff positions funded in part by community donations from Cardinals Rising, including a full-time fifth-grade teacher, a 0.6 FTE healthy-living teacher, and a special-education teacher shared between funding sources.
The Annandale Public School District board on Monday approved a set of staffing additions and accepted a slate of community donations the district says were raised by the volunteer group Cardinals Rising.
Board members voted to accept the May donations and to add several positions to the 2024–25 staffing plan, with motions carried unanimously. The newly authorized roles include a full-time fifth-grade teacher funded with Cardinals Rising dollars, a 0.6 FTE healthy-living/physical-education teacher also funded through Cardinals Rising, a full-time special-education teacher funded approximately 65% by state special-education dollars and 35% by Cardinals Rising, an ADCSIS-funded full-time behavior intervention specialist, and a full-time high-school counselor.
The board also approved the May resolution accepting donations. During public comment, a Cardinals Rising representative read an extended list of business and individual donors at multiple giving tiers and thanked the community for its support.
An unnamed board member recounted the fundraising history and the district’s allocation decisions: “on the January, just over a $100,000 was raised,” the board member said, and described how those funds helped restore a student-support specialist at the elementary level, fund an additional fourth-grade teacher, contribute about $30,000 to sustain the robotics program for a year, and partially support a special-education hire.
The board made clear it intends to notify donors about how their gifts were used. No board member opposed the approvals. The motions were moved and seconded on the record (for example, the positions motion was moved by Gina and seconded by Jen) and announced as carried by the chair.
The district’s public materials and meeting record list numerous business and individual contributors at bronze, silver, gold and platinum tiers; presenters said the donor list included 26 anonymous donors. The board emphasized the donations as targeted, one-time resources intended to restore or preserve staff and programs rather than to create ongoing, permanent commitments without future board review.
The board’s next steps include ongoing communication to donors and continuing to monitor staffing and enrollment impacts as the district finalizes schedules for the coming school year.
