Casino’s nonprofit to give grants

By Sarah Stultz | Albert Lea Tribune

Published Monday, February 9, 2009

NORTHWOOD, Iowa — The Worth County Development Authority announced last week it will be giving out $2 million toward educational purposes for Worth County students this year.

Out of that total, about $660,000 will go toward scholarship funds, about $1.1 million will go toward different schools and about $185,000 will go toward gift cards and preschool tuition. There will also be $30,000 that will go toward seed money for a WCDA project.

Each year, the WCDA — the nonprofit connected with the Diamond Jo Casino that holds the casino’s gaming license — receives 5.76 percent of the casino’s annual gross revenue.

Off the top of that amount in donations, the WCDA gives 7 percent to Worth County, and the other 93 percent is divided in half between education and then regional or countywide grants.

This year about 47 percent of the funds are going toward education.

Kim Miller, executive director of the WCDA, said this is the highest amount the authority has given out for this round of grants in its three years of operation. Last year, it gave out about $1.7 million, she said.

Out of the $1.1 million distributed to schools, Northwood-Kensett schools will receive about $450,000, North Central will receive about $237,000, Nora Springs will receive about $115,000, Forest City will receive about $98,000, St. Ansgar will receive about $83,000 and Lake Mills will receive about $150,000.

The amount of money given to each school is based on the number of Worth County students that go to that school, Miller said.

The school districts have until Feb. 27 as a first deadline to request what projects their allotted funds will go toward. On March 4, the WCDA will let the districts know what projects are accepted, and then on March 31, the second grant requests are due. By April 15, the districts will be notified of their final awards.

School money is split up in the following way: 29 percent goes toward physical plant operations, maintenance, expansion and green energy; 24 percent goes toward staff development, equipment, technology, text books, instructional support, support staff and library books; 19 percent goes toward organizational requests, fees and fundraising; 14 percent goes toward the teacher budget and is to be split equally among teachers for classroom materials; and 14 percent goes toward free school supplies and preschool.

School districts must provide a breakdown of how they will spend their money and attach estimates when applicable. For the teacher portion, schools must attach a list of all of the teachers’ names, along with what they are requesting.

All applications must be signed by every school board member within that district.

Miller said in the past, the Northwood-Kensett district has been able to have their whole gym redone, has gotten new science classrooms, lower parent fees, new textbooks and new uniforms for their students, to name a few.

“It’s just going on and on,” she said. “It’s touched almost every part of the schools. There’s a lot of things with the schools I don’t think they’d be able to do without this money.”

As a former teacher herself, she said, she knows how important the money is that goes straight toward teachers. Teachers oftentimes have to spend money out of their own pockets for their classrooms, but this fund allows them to receive some funds to go toward their classrooms instead.

Miller said the support the WCDA gives to education is the primary reason she wanted to get the Diamond Jo Casino in Worth County.

“This was my goal,” she said.

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