Edge of Financellence
For the past three years, many students have commented over what exactly the Edge of Excellence is. On November 14, Dr. Adams invited all student club leaders for a meeting during access and explained what lies behind this project and initiative that began 3 years ago.
Students noticed that the STEM Lab opening in 2017 had to have an enormous amount of money input by someone and quickly jumped to the conclusion that the school was using money from students’ tuitions. Some students even complained about this money being used to build new resources instead of fixing problems the school is having.
In the meeting, Dr. Adams explained the side of the story that students don’t regularly get to see regarding the funds the school has for all its needs. He clarified where tuition and fees go. The entrance fee and the registration fee are one-time payments that parents have to make for each of their children coming into the school. Tuition is paid monthly. These finances are then split into Operational Expenses (OPEX) and Capital Expenses (CAPEX). All tuition and registration fees go to OPEX. The typical OPEX is split between paying: Depreciation, Maintenance, Public Services, IT, Books, Staff Salaries and Benefits, and other expenses. Whatever is not used from that money is then taken into CAPEX which, together with the entrance fees covers: Technology Integration, IT CAPEX, Laptop 1 to 1, and Facilities.
Dr. Adams then proceeded to tell students about the money from the sale of the Missouri campus. He said that part of the money was used to pay off the debts they had from the construction of the new Elementary School building. The rest of the money was invested in an Endowment fund that is protected by the Board-Approved policy and cannot be easily used. The Endowment ensures the school’s OPEX for 1 year if any future temporary crisis were to occur.
Now, the money for projects from the Edge of Excellence comes entirely from families, teachers, staff, alumni, and friends of ASFM who wish to voluntarily donate to the school. They give their money in order to provide a new space for students to enhance their ideas, improve their learning, and develop their individual potential. Keeping this in mind, in the 1970s-80s ASFM made it mandatory for parents to contribute to the school’s finances by paying 4 times the registration fee for each of their children to help pay for the new projects that were being constructed in the school at that time.
Currently, the school is free from debt and is now tackling problems like fixing the soccer benches and the school bathrooms, which is a concern many students have had in the past.
YES LAB PROJECT
This year, a group of seniors has been working on convincing the Edge of Excellence committee to finance their proposal on a new YES LAB. Paulina Gonzalez (one of the girls in charge) explained the project, “The YES LAB began simply as a final project for the Digital Video Editing and Animation class. Andrea Criollos, Miranda Arechavaleta, Maria Giacoman, Vivi Jaime and myself came together to create a presentation, a magazine, and a render on what innovation within Mr. Colunga and Ms. Cannon’s room looked like for us. After proposing this idea to students, staff, and Principals, they were all awestruck on the work we had created. This room promotes creativity and pushes students to seek their technological endeavors, with the hope that everyone’s ideas are valued and said ‘YES’ to. The project was proposed in December of last year, and we kept in touch with Dr. Adams throughout the semester. This year we have had extensive meetings with staff and Principals afterschool to ideate what this room will look like and develop the true meaning behind the Yes Lab. Long hours have gone into planning, documenting and brainstorming, meeting almost every week to come up with the drivers that define the space. After meeting with companies and families that could financially aid this project, the only thing left to do is wait and hope that the necessary funds will be raised. If we are lucky, this project will become a reality at the start of summer 2020.”