Beloit board hears pitch for $2.5 million literacy pilot from Hendricks Family Foundation

The School District of Beloit board spent its Feb. 10 special meeting debating a Hendricks Family Foundation offer to fund a $2,500,000, three‑year literacy pilot at a single elementary school using Open Literacy with on‑site support from Skyrocket Education.

Carrie Frank, executive director of Beloit 200, urged the board to approve the gift, telling members: "Vote yes and give our kids a chance." An emailed public comment said the foundation asked for a unanimous vote and described the proposal as a "real program with real resources," noting the funder previously piloted a program in 2014 that ended early.

Superintendent Doctor Anderson told the board he "is strongly in support of this proposal," saying four of the district's six elementary schools have indicated they would pursue the program if it becomes available and describing a forthcoming application process to select the pilot site. Anderson also said the gift will come with program conditions — a three‑year term, the $2.5 million total and a 60‑slot pilot using the specified vendors — and that accepting the funds would carry those parameters unless the partnership agreement specifies otherwise.

Board members and staff focused much of the discussion on how the district would accept, code and administer the funds. One board member asked whether payments to providers would be treated as an outside gift or handled through district accounts; district staff said donations can be coded to fund 21 so expenses would not affect equalization aid. Board members and the superintendent repeatedly said implementation details — including whether bonuses or stipends would be paid, how those would be administered through payroll, and how the district would define and measure success — must be negotiated in a partnership agreement and clarified in policy.

Board member Megan Miller urged caution about expectations for large, systemwide change from a single intervention and requested that the board set concrete metrics up front. Miller summarized national research and said some evaluations show modest gains on internal benchmarks but limited transfer to state tests; she described the situation as urgent, saying, "I keep hearing that this is urgent. It's a 5 alarm fire." The district's reading benchmark for third grade was discussed in the meeting; board remarks cited 15.8% of third graders meeting grade‑level expectations on the forward ELA exam.

Classroom teacher Joanne Rue told the board that systematic phonics instruction had been deemphasized in prior years and that recent curriculum revisions are restoring phonics; she described staffing shortages that make outside support attractive because it frees classroom teachers to focus on instruction.

Not all exchanges were cordial. Board member Brian Nichols expressed strong support for moving quickly and said, of rejecting the gift, "If we say no, I'm gonna say it. We're idiots." Another board member called that language inappropriate. The board did not take a vote on the Hendricks Family Foundation proposal at this meeting.

The board directed staff to continue negotiating details with the foundation, to work on any needed policy language (including possible updates to board policy 8 40 and 8 40 Rule 1), and to return with clarifications at a subsequent meeting. Routine business motions — approving the meeting agenda and adjourning — were passed unanimously during the session.

Board members and staff said they view the proposal as an opportunity to help students immediately while continuing broader strategic work to address poverty, staffing and district capacity. The board will continue the discussion at upcoming meetings and expects staff to bring a partnership agreement and proposed success metrics before any formal acceptance.