Kuemper tops $4 million goal, goes for challenge goal

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
September 29, 2005

CARROLL - Members of the Kuemper Foundation Board announced Sept. 28 that the capital campaign for Kuemper Catholic Schools - A Tradition of Faith...A Spirit of Excellence - has surpassed its $4 million goal and now will work toward the $5 million challenge goal.

"I am extremely thankful for the number of people who were willing to participate. It's an outstanding achievement to be able to reach $4 million," said Jim Auen, chairman of the campaign and a 1974 Kuemper graduate.

The campaign currently has received $4,012,541 in pledges and will continue to work towards the $5 million challenge goal, which includes capital needs and long-term endowments.

"We were really happy to meet the $4 million goal because that was our minimum goal for the projects that we knew we wanted to complete here over the next two to three years," said Dr. Thomas Tacheny, superintendent of Kuemper Catholic Schools. "Just making that goal, means that we can go ahead with improvements."

Reaching that goal, he added, is a real tribute to the whole Kuemper family.

"That amount of money is coming from a wide variety of donors - about 1,700 donors. It indicates the kind of support that this school has," he said.

Dr. Tacheny explained that the campaign was presented in various phases, reaching out to alumni, parents of current students, faculty, parishioners of area parishes, the Carroll community at large and even Kuemper supporters from outside of the area.

"It's very heartening that so many different kinds of people support this institution," he said.

The campaign kicked off in November of 2004, but Auen noted that initial work began in the summer of 2003 with a feasibility study.

"The firm that we had hired to help us with the campaign did the study to decide what they thought we could raise and where we needed to spend the money," he noted.

Dr. Tacheny mentioned that Kuemper Catholic Schools, which celebrated its 50th anniversary about a year ago, had also recently gone through a unification process.

"It was the unification that really sparked the desire to raise money to make improvements in the system," he said. "It had turned into a pre-K through 12 system, so that meant that we were coordinating all of the programs throughout the system, making improvements in the curriculum, revitalizing our facility and renovating parts of facilities that need it - including improvement of educational equipment."

Two examples of the educational improvements include technology updates and helping to fund a K-12 Spanish curriculum. An example of a planned facility improvement is a new heating and cooling system needed in one of the buildings.

Another portion of the money will help expand the endowment for tuition assistance as well as expand the teacher enrichment and training inservice programs.

"The buildings are being continuously updated and renovated," said Dr. Tacheny.

Nothing major is planned for improvements to the building itself as a $3 million dollar campaign about seven years ago centered on such improvements to the high school. It funded renovation of the gym, music room, industrial arts area and more.

Auen mentioned that the people supported the plan for how the dollars will be used.

"No one that we spoke to questioned whether or not we were allocating money to the right areas. They were all in favor of tuition assistance. They all knew technology needed to be upgraded. They all knew the building needed the work it did," he said. "The important thing was that people wanted to be assured that the money is spent correctly."

With that in mind, the Kuemper Foundation Board will be managing the funds.

"People will support you as long as you spend the money wisely and spend it on the right things," said Auen.

Dr. Tacheny pointed out that now more than ever the managing of money must be more transparent.

"We discovered that in the feasibility study," he said. "We are being much more vigilant with communication. Every quarter in a newsletter, we are letting people know how money is coming in. And in terms of management, we put the foundation in charge of this campaign and they will have oversight as to how the money is being spent, so we not only have the school board watching this, we have the foundation."

Contributors had the option to make pledges over a five-year time frame.

While the $4 million goal has been reached, the campaign will continue through June 30, 2006 as it strives to reach the $5 million challenge goal.

John Steffes, development director at Kuemper, said the theme was very fitting for the campaign.

"Catholic education has been a sacred tradition of this area for over 130 years, and excellence has once again been displayed in 2005 by Kuemper's well-known academic programs and successful activities, and of course, through the spirit of faith at Kuemper which gives everything its foundation," he said.