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Crowdfunding: School board makes right call on policy

Belpre City Schools’ Board of Education is right to be considering a policy on online fundraising tools such as Go Fund Me, DonorsChoose and Kickstarter, for its employees. Guidance on use of such technology is important as those platforms are sometimes used to raise money for school supplies, trips or projects.

“Crowdfunding is a semi-new platform,” said Superintendent Tony Dunn. “That can be a great thing but it can also lead to a lot of complications.”

As teachers, administrators, staff and students have already learned, other new platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media have certainly held their own complications — and school boards who were not ahead of the game in developing a policy to deal with such matters found themselves with few options in handling those complications.

“It’s protection for the staff members, the board and the district,” said Belpre City Schools Treasurer Lance Erlwein.

He is absolutely correct.

Board members now have a template to examine, which will be discussed (and possibly modified) at September’s meeting.

They should look it over very carefully, with an understanding that the only thing certain about the challenges the district will face in regard to such technology is that they will be unpredictable.

Bravo to Dunn for presenting such a policy and attempting to be ahead of the game.

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