- Allentown School District may consider severing ties with the ASD Foundation
- There's concern about alignment with the district's new academic strategy
- One board member said the concern goes back years
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Allentown School District could sever its relationship with its fundraising counterpart, the ASD Foundation.
Several foundation board and staff members spoke at the Allentown School Board meeting Thursday to ask the board to maintain the relationship with the foundation and to spell out any concerns the district has.
The Allentown School District Foundation was created as a nonprofit organization in 2009 to raise money to support the district. Tanya Harris, president of the foundation, said Thursday it has raised nearly $8.8 million since its inception through contributions from individual donors, community and corporate donors.
“It's come to my attention recently through conversations with several ASD board members that the ASD board is reconsidering its relationship with the foundation,” Harris said. “More specifically, the ASD board may decide in alignment with their new academic strategy to no longer use the foundation as a fundraising organization for the district."
Harris said the group was “surprised to receive the news, as many of us believe we are truly a transformative organization that has helped many students achieve their academic goals.”
None of the school board members responded to the foundation representatives during the meeting.
“We believe that we 100% support the academic direction of the current administration."Julie Ambrose, ASD Foundation Executive Director
School board member Phoebe Harris said there have been concerns raised about the ASD Foundation long before this, but past superintendents brushed aside their concerns. School Board President Audrey Mathison did not respond to a call for comment Friday.
"Board members have been asking for this for years and we finally got a superintendent that is listening," Phoebe Harris said.
Superintendent Carol Birks has directed the district’s purchase of new curriculum materials with $20 million in COVID-19 dollars. But it's unclear if the school district is ready to move on from working with the ASD Foundation. A statement from the district late in the day Friday called the foundation an "invaluable partner."
Julie Ambrose, who introduced herself as executive director of the foundation in public comments Thursday night, said foundation officials had a conversation with members of the district and school board leaders in September to understand their concerns. The foundation asked them to follow up the meeting with a subsequent email relaying the district's issues it wanted to see addressed, which was sent on Oct. 2. But Ambrose said the email failed to specify the district’s concerns. She said the foundation is still waiting for a response.
“We believe that we 100% support the academic direction of the current administration and always have worked to support the academic direction of every administration that's been hired here in Allentown,” she said. “And we're very eager to continue to do that.”
In a statement on Friday, the school district said Ambrose had resigned from her position with the foundation. Neither Ambrose nor ASD Foundation Board of Directors President Dan Bosket confirmed that information Friday evening. But in an emailed statement to LehighValleyNews.com on Saturday, Ambrose said she had resigned to take on a new role and that her resignation was unrelated to the issue with the school district.
Ambrose said the situation with the district was unfortunate because of the district's tremendous needs and challenges.
"It is a mystery and a shame that the current administration has taken an antagonistic position with regard to the ASDF, a highly reputable non-profit that has been a positive support for the ASD since 2009," she said in the statement.
The nonprofit group raises money for scholarships for high school graduates, innovation grants for teachers, and supports programs like Latin dance contests and an annual science fair.
Phoebe Harris said an example of one frustration she has had is that the nonprofit has been reluctant to give more funding to the Allen High School baseball team.
“They're like, Oh, how does it help them academically,’” she said. “Well, if you play a sport, you have to keep your grades up. You can't fail classes. That's how it keeps them academically. They have a reason to come to school.”
In its statement Friday, the district praised the foundation's past work and said it looked forward to helping to choose its next leader.
"We look forward to collaborating with the foundation to select a successor to participate in our strategic planning process and help shape the next chapter of our district’s continuous improvement efforts."
Phoebe Harris said the board has had preliminary discussions about separating from the foundation.
Any changes would require a vote in open session.
