New foundation to manage Cisco funds

New foundation to manage Cisco funds

The Board of Trustees for the Hattiesburg Public School District has asked for legislative permission to transfer money from the district's general fund into a recently created foundation.

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The twist: The $174,457 to be transferred had accrued in an earlier foundation incarnation that was dissolved at the request of the state auditor.

Trustees voted to send along a request to Rep. Toby Barker, R-Hattiesburg, to introduce a local and private bill to "allow the district to relinquish that money back to the new foundation," said Eddie Holloway, president of the reconstituted nonprofit entity, the Hattiesburg Public School District Foundation.

The original foundation, Hattiesburg Public Schools Foundation, was created in 2006 to manage a multi-million dollar grant from Cisco Systems Inc.

Cisco grant money, which became available in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, primarily was used to upgrade technology in the district's classrooms.

That included the purchase of Activboards, a whiteboard that functions as a touch screen and Internet portal.

But in 2008, the state auditor's office ruled that the foundation had been flawed in its structural inception.

"The original ruling by the state auditor was that (the foundation) was seen as an arm of the school board," Holloway said.

That meant that the old foundation had to cease operations. The money left in trust was transferred to the district to be held until a new foundation was created in compliance with state guidelines.

The board was asked to pass the resolution this past week because the Legislature is to reconvene April 20.

"Business will be conducted from one day to three days," said board attorney Percy Watson, who is a long-time member of the state House of Representatives as well.

"There is a window for this to go through."

Holloway said the foundation money is expected to be awarded to HPSD teachers in the form of mini-grants to enhance classroom education.

"The way that it's worded (in the document creating the foundation) is that all proceeds will be used for education," Holloway said.

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