A $2.75 million athletic facility is coming soon to the North Scott School District, but it's now looking to the public's help to make it bigger and better. It's a private-public partnership the district hopes brings the community together.
Asking for money is never an easy task, but for the school district, they see what they're doing now as an investment from the community.
"In a step of faith, we`re asking the community to come along side of us to donate, raise and pledge $500,000," North Scott School Board member Nick Hansel said.
That's expected to add more equipment for the fitness center, a dual-functioning building for football storage and halftime meetings, and a permanent indoor batting cage.
It's a step of faith that guest speaker Kent Stock says he's seen many times in his decades in education, and he says it pays off every time.
"In small towns, big towns, wherever, the school is kind of the identity of the town. So, to get the community to rally around a project is very important," Stock said.
The private-public partnership may be a good way to accomplish their goals, but it could be just as easy to get a corporate partner, something they admit is not totally out of the question.
"Of course, we`re going to talk with businesses when introduced and given a referral, or someone that has a contact for us, but right now, we`re going to start with community members and go from there," Hansel said.
When it comes to funding other projects or other school necessities, these private-public partnerships could be a possibility, but they say boosters already take care of a large part of that. For right now, North Scott is just focused on this project.
Whether they meet the financial goal or not, Hansel and others feel it's already been a successful way of creating a stronger community bond.
Hansel says he's already been blown away at the interest from people wanting to be a partner in this project. He says if this goes well, it could be a model for how they fund other big school projects down the road.