October 15, 2024 • 9 mins
The Burnet Consolidated Independent School District Education Foundation was started in the spring of 2024 to support staff and student programs. The foundation's Kaylee Gaines and Damon Beierle told KBEY 103.9 FM listeners about its mission.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Guests in the studio this morning, Kaylee Gaines and Damon Byerley.
Kaylee is the marketing and everything guru for the Burnett
CID Education Foundation. Hi, Kaylee, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:11):
I'm good.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Damon Byerley. We know as the County Commission but also
the BCID Education Foundation Board president. You said you were
the inaugural President's sure, I think you're George Washington of
the BCID Education und Welcome, y'all, Thank you, thank you
for coming in. And this is not an interview about
a fundraiser or anything like that. This is just you
(00:34):
wanted to come in and talk to the community about Hey,
we're here now.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Huh.
Speaker 4 (00:38):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (00:38):
So we know education foundations are a popular norvel Falls
one is a fantastic one. We've heard great things about. Well,
this is all new to Burnett, brand new this year.
We just formed back in early summer, may be just
a few months, got started.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
And then here we are.
Speaker 5 (00:57):
We have started our annual campaign and we just to
kind of going around all the groups and of course
you got to come to KBA and talk about the
new education foundation in Burnett.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
What was the genesis of the thinking?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Why although the schools get state funding.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
We all know that that state funding is not enough,
and so the Education Foundation is one way to solicit
private funds in a nonprofit way. They go right back
to our school districts to support innovative and learning curriculum items,
if needed, things that are not in your typical school budget.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
This is not party money. You're not going to have
a big dinner. You're not going to have it. I
mean you will, but that'll be for fundraisers and things
like that. But this money is going to be used.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
For go straight back to our teachers so that they
can use it in the classroom.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Yeah, and what kind of things are you looking to
fund with teachers? What do you do?
Speaker 5 (01:45):
We've already done around of grants and we haven't even
released our kickoff campaign just started, but we were able
to raise enough money in the beginning. We wanted to
do an initial round of grants right out of the gate.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
So you've already done that and we did. We awarded
them last week.
Speaker 5 (02:01):
I'm going to let Kaylee give the numbers in a second,
but basically we started off with you know, so that
we can learn our process too, right, because it's always
a work in documentar how these are going to work.
So we did up to five hundred dollars and for
innovation and education things like that, and so we put
it out there. The Grants committee at the head of
that is doctor Caitlyn Byrd and so they got her committee,
(02:22):
got everything together and we did that round of grants
and Kaylee can tell you more about some of the
numbers and what grants we funded.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
So for the initial round of grants to kickoff kickstart
grants as we called them, we were able to give
five thousand, seventy and thirty eight cents to the district
that covered twelve grade levels, nineteen teachers and one thousand
eighty two students.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Wow, that's good. And these are grants for maybe the
teachers need special things in their room or is it's
that kind of stuff right.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
We had two di Seleccia teachers come and ask for
more da kotables for their students that are learning, you know,
ways around their dyslexia. We've had teachers request literacy items
for their classroom libraries.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
We had a.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Focused teacher come forward and ask for incentives for her students,
which are kind of your behavior program that we have
burn it.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
So so kind of it was kind of all over
the board.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
It was really nice to see teachers come out and
come up with ideas of things that would enhance their
classroom and take that, you know, give them that step
up and that ability to take their chip students one
more level.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
That was my next question is how how have you
been received by the teachers.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
The teachers have been super excited, really, so we did
surprise the grant parties, so the principles as we set
it up with them and they actually just come in
and actually just walk into the classroom and be.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Like, hey, we have money, you know. So it was
so exciting.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
I mean, we had teachers cry, teacher jumping up and down.
I mean, it was it was so nice to see
that reaction.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
In our schools. I know.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
We had a comment on our Facebook page when we
posted from a parent whose student came home and said.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
My little boy came home and said my teacher was
getting money fairy books for the classroom. And she didn't
really understand what he meant.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
She thought the teacher was just buying books for the classroom,
and when she saw what we were doing, she was
very supportive and it was a very complimentary comment.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 5 (04:13):
I think she was taken back if I got her
comment right then her kid was so excited about it,
And it's because we came and blasting with the with
the poppers and the pomp poms and all that stuff
as a group. Most of our board was there, Admin
was there. I mean, it was a you know, with
the big check and all that stuff. So the kids
were like, what's going on, and we're like, we're giving
(04:34):
your teacher money, you know, and so and then it
was for the for books for that classroom, and so
it is it was interesting her comment to be like, well,
I thought it was just books, like you said, but
then to see the excitement behind it. That excitement transferred
to the kids and now they're excited about it. So
they're like, we weren't going to get this without, you know,
and so it's it's it's really neat. We're going to
kick off our next round of grant funding in November
(04:57):
and we're going to go to the next level up
so they'll be a little bit bigger. So that was
just five hundred dollars kickstart grants, you know, just get
get our feet wet, right, and we've already raised enough
money that we're gonna launch I think the next round
is twenty five hundred to five thousand, So you have
to stay within those windows.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Uh huh.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
Now, we did have a few that applied for big
grants and the little one just like, oh hey, let
me see if I get this. But so we're gonna
transfer those, you know, of course, and move those to
the next thing. And and we were hoping to see
teachers get innovative and find those things because even some
teachers are like, well hold on, we don't know what
to ask for yet, because this is brand new. Yeah,
(05:32):
so when they see other teachers get things or they
see other education foundations give things, it helps create that
and find those things that are like the word innovative
get used, gets used a lot, and it's because we're
trying to step out of the box of what does
tax dollars fund. They fund your basic education, right, they
fund you know, the things they need to get education.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Right. So this this is that extra stuff that teachers.
Speaker 5 (05:55):
Can come to us for and and apply for when
we have those rounds of grants and get what they need.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
And teachers will know when it's time to apply for
grants and what they can apply for and the size
and all that stuff that's right, and I think teachers
have become well versed in doing that. Are y'all studying
other education foundations to see the right and wrong ways
to do stuff.
Speaker 5 (06:16):
We're working with a group that helped us form okay,
it forms education foundation. Yes, so uh, and we're almost
you know, it's a short lived contract, so to speak,
and then we're often running. But what we're getting from
that company has been fabulous because she's already telling us
this is work. This hasn't worked, and this works, and
that doesn't worked. And then some things, you know, we've
(06:37):
we've kind of done on our own because I mean,
we are burn It right, So we do it. We
do things, are we right? And so we've already found
a few areas where we do it better. Yeah, but
uh but no, we look at Fredericksburg has a good one,
Marble Falls has a good one. We know these things work,
and we know they're supported by the community once they're understood,
and people are starting to understand it.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
And and Burnet is blessed to have this.
Speaker 5 (06:58):
And and our board is an amazing board. I think
there's eighteen of us. It's a big board, but it's
a working board. It's the one of the hardest working
boards I've been on.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
That's neat. And it's good that you have the guidance
because you know, I was just thinking, you know, if
I was in charge of this, it'd be just one
goofball out there going what.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Do you do?
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Now? You know, what do we do? Let's see if
this worth But that's great that you're getting the advice.
I didn't realize there were companies that did that. So
that's a that's a cool deal. Well, okay, so what
do we as a community need to know? What do
we got to do? What do we need to look
for coming up all that stuff?
Speaker 5 (07:30):
I would say, just you know, go at like anything else,
go on social media and lack our page. Okay, follow
along and what we're trying to do. We are in
the middle of our annual campaign. It's our first one.
Of course, everything this year will be our first, but
our annual campaign kicks off now. Anybody that donates at
least five hundred dollars within this first twelve months, and
(07:50):
it can be in segments, it could be you know,
all at one time, but a minimum of five hundred
you get to be included in our founder circle, and
so you're you're etched in our founder circle for.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
Life, okay.
Speaker 5 (08:00):
And then if you go to our website bcid EF
dot org you can click on that. We use a
platform called gift Butter and it's a lot of people
using that now, but it's got all kinds of stuff.
You can go on there and do a one time,
you can do recurring. You can just say, hey, I
want to give twenty five dollars a month or whatever
(08:21):
the number is, any amounts great, or you can do
it one time, like I said. And so then we're
going to ramp up into the events. Committee is talking
about a gala. I don't know a lot about that yet,
but I've been hearing about it a little bit.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
So in February we're going to have a gala.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
Earn it and we're excited about being able to host
that good obviously, like with a lot of the competition
in galas and banquets and stuff, we're trying to be
unique and different and good.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
So Kayleie Gaines and Damon Byerley, it's the BCI d
EF Education Foundation that's which is brand new. You're just
getting the word out and we can look forward. Tell
me the Facebook page or tell me the social pages
we can go to.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
It's just in it C I S D. Education Foundation.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Okay on Facebook and US. Okay, good, Thank y'all for
coming in. This is great. I'm uh. I know the
community is excited about it and we're glad to hear
from me. Come back anytime.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
Thanks, thank you,
Guests in the studio this morning, Kaylee Gaines and Damon Byerley.
Kaylee is the marketing and everything guru for the Burnett
CID Education Foundation. Hi, Kaylee, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:11):
I'm good.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Damon Byerley. We know as the County Commission but also
the BCID Education Foundation Board president. You said you were
the inaugural President's sure, I think you're George Washington of
the BCID Education und Welcome, y'all, Thank you, thank you
for coming in. And this is not an interview about
a fundraiser or anything like that. This is just you
(00:34):
wanted to come in and talk to the community about Hey,
we're here now.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Huh.
Speaker 4 (00:38):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (00:38):
So we know education foundations are a popular norvel Falls
one is a fantastic one. We've heard great things about. Well,
this is all new to Burnett, brand new this year.
We just formed back in early summer, may be just
a few months, got started.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
And then here we are.
Speaker 5 (00:57):
We have started our annual campaign and we just to
kind of going around all the groups and of course
you got to come to KBA and talk about the
new education foundation in Burnett.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
What was the genesis of the thinking?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Why although the schools get state funding.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
We all know that that state funding is not enough,
and so the Education Foundation is one way to solicit
private funds in a nonprofit way. They go right back
to our school districts to support innovative and learning curriculum items,
if needed, things that are not in your typical school budget.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
This is not party money. You're not going to have
a big dinner. You're not going to have it. I
mean you will, but that'll be for fundraisers and things
like that. But this money is going to be used.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
For go straight back to our teachers so that they
can use it in the classroom.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Yeah, and what kind of things are you looking to
fund with teachers? What do you do?
Speaker 5 (01:45):
We've already done around of grants and we haven't even
released our kickoff campaign just started, but we were able
to raise enough money in the beginning. We wanted to
do an initial round of grants right out of the gate.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
So you've already done that and we did. We awarded
them last week.
Speaker 5 (02:01):
I'm going to let Kaylee give the numbers in a second,
but basically we started off with you know, so that
we can learn our process too, right, because it's always
a work in documentar how these are going to work.
So we did up to five hundred dollars and for
innovation and education things like that, and so we put
it out there. The Grants committee at the head of
that is doctor Caitlyn Byrd and so they got her committee,
(02:22):
got everything together and we did that round of grants
and Kaylee can tell you more about some of the
numbers and what grants we funded.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
So for the initial round of grants to kickoff kickstart
grants as we called them, we were able to give
five thousand, seventy and thirty eight cents to the district
that covered twelve grade levels, nineteen teachers and one thousand
eighty two students.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Wow, that's good. And these are grants for maybe the
teachers need special things in their room or is it's
that kind of stuff right.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
We had two di Seleccia teachers come and ask for
more da kotables for their students that are learning, you know,
ways around their dyslexia. We've had teachers request literacy items
for their classroom libraries.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
We had a.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Focused teacher come forward and ask for incentives for her students,
which are kind of your behavior program that we have
burn it.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
So so kind of it was kind of all over
the board.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
It was really nice to see teachers come out and
come up with ideas of things that would enhance their
classroom and take that, you know, give them that step
up and that ability to take their chip students one
more level.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
That was my next question is how how have you
been received by the teachers.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
The teachers have been super excited, really, so we did
surprise the grant parties, so the principles as we set
it up with them and they actually just come in
and actually just walk into the classroom and be.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Like, hey, we have money, you know. So it was
so exciting.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
I mean, we had teachers cry, teacher jumping up and down.
I mean, it was it was so nice to see
that reaction.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
In our schools. I know.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
We had a comment on our Facebook page when we
posted from a parent whose student came home and said.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
My little boy came home and said my teacher was
getting money fairy books for the classroom. And she didn't
really understand what he meant.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
She thought the teacher was just buying books for the classroom,
and when she saw what we were doing, she was
very supportive and it was a very complimentary comment.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 5 (04:13):
I think she was taken back if I got her
comment right then her kid was so excited about it,
And it's because we came and blasting with the with
the poppers and the pomp poms and all that stuff
as a group. Most of our board was there, Admin
was there. I mean, it was a you know, with
the big check and all that stuff. So the kids
were like, what's going on, and we're like, we're giving
(04:34):
your teacher money, you know, and so and then it
was for the for books for that classroom, and so
it is it was interesting her comment to be like, well,
I thought it was just books, like you said, but
then to see the excitement behind it. That excitement transferred
to the kids and now they're excited about it. So
they're like, we weren't going to get this without, you know,
and so it's it's it's really neat. We're going to
kick off our next round of grant funding in November
(04:57):
and we're going to go to the next level up
so they'll be a little bit bigger. So that was
just five hundred dollars kickstart grants, you know, just get
get our feet wet, right, and we've already raised enough
money that we're gonna launch I think the next round
is twenty five hundred to five thousand, So you have
to stay within those windows.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Uh huh.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
Now, we did have a few that applied for big
grants and the little one just like, oh hey, let
me see if I get this. But so we're gonna
transfer those, you know, of course, and move those to
the next thing. And and we were hoping to see
teachers get innovative and find those things because even some
teachers are like, well hold on, we don't know what
to ask for yet, because this is brand new. Yeah,
(05:32):
so when they see other teachers get things or they
see other education foundations give things, it helps create that
and find those things that are like the word innovative
get used, gets used a lot, and it's because we're
trying to step out of the box of what does
tax dollars fund. They fund your basic education, right, they
fund you know, the things they need to get education.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Right. So this this is that extra stuff that teachers.
Speaker 5 (05:55):
Can come to us for and and apply for when
we have those rounds of grants and get what they need.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
And teachers will know when it's time to apply for
grants and what they can apply for and the size
and all that stuff that's right, and I think teachers
have become well versed in doing that. Are y'all studying
other education foundations to see the right and wrong ways
to do stuff.
Speaker 5 (06:16):
We're working with a group that helped us form okay,
it forms education foundation. Yes, so uh, and we're almost
you know, it's a short lived contract, so to speak,
and then we're often running. But what we're getting from
that company has been fabulous because she's already telling us
this is work. This hasn't worked, and this works, and
that doesn't worked. And then some things, you know, we've
(06:37):
we've kind of done on our own because I mean,
we are burn It right, So we do it. We
do things, are we right? And so we've already found
a few areas where we do it better. Yeah, but
uh but no, we look at Fredericksburg has a good one,
Marble Falls has a good one. We know these things work,
and we know they're supported by the community once they're understood,
and people are starting to understand it.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
And and Burnet is blessed to have this.
Speaker 5 (06:58):
And and our board is an amazing board. I think
there's eighteen of us. It's a big board, but it's
a working board. It's the one of the hardest working
boards I've been on.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
That's neat. And it's good that you have the guidance
because you know, I was just thinking, you know, if
I was in charge of this, it'd be just one
goofball out there going what.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Do you do?
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Now? You know, what do we do? Let's see if
this worth But that's great that you're getting the advice.
I didn't realize there were companies that did that. So
that's a that's a cool deal. Well, okay, so what
do we as a community need to know? What do
we got to do? What do we need to look
for coming up all that stuff?
Speaker 5 (07:30):
I would say, just you know, go at like anything else,
go on social media and lack our page. Okay, follow
along and what we're trying to do. We are in
the middle of our annual campaign. It's our first one.
Of course, everything this year will be our first, but
our annual campaign kicks off now. Anybody that donates at
least five hundred dollars within this first twelve months, and
(07:50):
it can be in segments, it could be you know,
all at one time, but a minimum of five hundred
you get to be included in our founder circle, and
so you're you're etched in our founder circle for.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
Life, okay.
Speaker 5 (08:00):
And then if you go to our website bcid EF
dot org you can click on that. We use a
platform called gift Butter and it's a lot of people
using that now, but it's got all kinds of stuff.
You can go on there and do a one time,
you can do recurring. You can just say, hey, I
want to give twenty five dollars a month or whatever
(08:21):
the number is, any amounts great, or you can do
it one time, like I said. And so then we're
going to ramp up into the events. Committee is talking
about a gala. I don't know a lot about that yet,
but I've been hearing about it a little bit.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
So in February we're going to have a gala.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
Earn it and we're excited about being able to host
that good obviously, like with a lot of the competition
in galas and banquets and stuff, we're trying to be
unique and different and good.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
So Kayleie Gaines and Damon Byerley, it's the BCI d
EF Education Foundation that's which is brand new. You're just
getting the word out and we can look forward. Tell
me the Facebook page or tell me the social pages
we can go to.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
It's just in it C I S D. Education Foundation.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Okay on Facebook and US. Okay, good, Thank y'all for
coming in. This is great. I'm uh. I know the
community is excited about it and we're glad to hear
from me. Come back anytime.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
Thanks, thank you,
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