Board approves $750 from Anson Tilsen trust to fund summer library; members press for clearer committee oversight

The RSU 18 School Board approved a $750 request from the Anson Tilsen trust to fund a summer library program that will coincide with the district lunch program.

Presenter Carrie (identified in the meeting) asked the board to approve $750 to the Anson Tilsen fund to support the summer library. She described the program as operating two days per week during July and said staffing costs for those days were the primary expense. Board members raised procedural questions under policy DFA about whether the board had appointed a committee to review trust requests, whether annual reports on the fund had been provided to the board, and who historically served as the trust’s committee.

Administrators and other members reported the trust balance is approximately $67,700 and that the fund accrues roughly $4,000 annually in interest; they said the interest could sustain modest annual expenditures. Several board members suggested the board could task the school team or staff at James Dean School to evaluate options for spending interest annually and to coordinate with parents and community members to broaden use of the fund going forward. One member asked for an annual report and more transparency on the fund’s use before larger disbursements.

After discussion, a motion to approve the $750 request as presented was moved and seconded. The board voted to approve the request; administrators were directed to proceed with the summer plans and to explore options for organizing a committee or broader community process to steward the trust’s interest in future years.

Board members requested that staff bring more documentation on the trust’s history and the balance and present comparative spending or committee reports in a future meeting so the board can consider longer-term uses of interest generated by the fund.