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Welcome to the Madison Education Foundation (MEF)

Welcome

Welcome to the home of the Madison Education Foundation in Madison County, Idaho. Our mission is to support, maintain, and enhance educational programs and activities for all students in Madison School District No. 321. Philanthropic and volunteer assistance from individuals, businesses, and community partners allows the Foundation to further advance and support the educational mission of Madison School District.

The Madison Education Foundation was established in 1993. Through donations, fund raisers and investments, the Foundation provides enhanced funding of educational programs and other opportunities for students of the Madison School District in Rexburg, Idaho. The Foundation has been organized and established as an 501(c)3 charitable organization allowing donations from individuals and organization to be tax deductible at the Federal level, and as both a deduction and a tax credit with the State of Idaho.

The Foundation is a separate and distinct organization and has no legal affiliation with any other organization, including the Madison School District. There is, however, coordination with the Foundation Board and District leadership to allow more efficient use of funds by the Foundation.

Governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of business leaders, community members, and school district employees, the Foundation directs every donation back to students.

Through the years, the Madison Education Foundation has served as a vehicle for generating hundreds of thousands of dollars that benefit the students of the district. It is exciting to witness the generosity of the community in contributing to the education support of local children.

Articles of Interest

Periodically there are newsworthy articles that shine a spotlight on either the Madison School District #321 or The Madison Education Foundation. As we can, we will post these that we find interesting or important.

REXBURG, Idaho – Dr. Geoff Thomas, Superintendent of Madison School District 321 was recently named as the 2015 Idaho Superintendent of the Year, selected by the members of the Idaho Association of School Administrators (IASA). This is a comprehensive award that considers student achievement, instructional leadership, community engagement, and relationship with the board of trustees.

Rob Winslow, executive director of the Idaho Association of School Administrators, has worked with Thomas for many years now and was pleased to hear he was chosen for this award. Winslow states, “Geoffrey is and always has been an exceptional leader. He is well deserving of this honor.”

Thomas will be receiving this award, as well as representing Idaho at the National Superintendents Conference next month in San Diego.

“It is a great honor and very humbling to be selected by my peers. This award is really a recognition of the amazing students, teachers, administrators, board of trustees and staff in MSD321. Madison is the finest school district in Idaho,” said Thomas.

Thomas, who began working for MSD in 2001, is in his fourteenth year as serving as superintendent for Madison. In this time, he has been instrumental in building new, and updating existing, schools and facilities. A new high school, two new elementary schools, extensive remodeling to six other schools as well as countless other projects have all been driven by him. These projects have not only enhanced the school climate and increased safety, but have made room for the ever-expanding district.

Thomas believes the willingness of the patrons to financially support local school buildings and programs is really a reflection of the trust patrons and parents have in the quality of educational services provided by the teachers and staff of our neighborhood schools. Randy Lords, Administrator at Madison Junior High, agrees with Thomas stating, “In my 14 years working with and for Geoff, he has always been a good steward of taxpayer dollars. He is very conscientious about district spending and because of this, our community has benefited greatly.”

Lords also believes that Thomas stands out as a Superintendent because of his ability to surround himself with good, capable people, and then trust them to do their job. “ I appreciate the support, guidance and trust he gives each of us administrators. We are trusted and allowed the freedom to run our own building.”

Thomas has not limited his impact and leadership to Madison Schools. An outspoken statewide advocate for public education, he has led the fight for increases to teacher/staff salaries, to maintain student privacy, greater local control and against Common Core and the standardized Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium or (SBAC) test.

Thomas states, “CCSS, ISEE and SBAC are about corporations making money off public education and not actually education itself. They are vehicles by which corporations rake in our hard earned tax dollars by forcing us to accept curriculum, student tracking and testing that we never requested or needed.”

Board Chair Kevin Howell adds” Dr. Thomas has always been a forward thinker. He is not one to sit by and accept everything that is sent down the chain. He is the first to stand up and fight for local control as well as our being able to decide what is best for our children.”

Dr. Thomas is also a member of Rotary Club and is currently serving as Vice President of the Rexburg Chamber of Commerce and will become President in March, 2015.

For Thomas, being a part of service organizations and the Chamber has been very rewarding. “I support local business development and urge everyone to ‘Shop Local First’ before venturing elsewhere. In my role as superintendent, I have been deeply grateful to our local famers and businesses for their steadfast support of our schools and district,” said Thomas.

Madison School District plays a large educational role in the community, but what many don’t realize is the equally important economic role it plays. Madison School District is currently the county’s second largest employer.

Outside of Thomas’ superintendent role and community involvement, he and his wife Janalee have five children, three grown, married sons and two daughters that attend Madison High. They love attending games, concerts and school activities. “We are proud Bobcats!” said Thomas.

In his spare time Thomas loves to read, spend time with his children and grandchildren, exercise and cruise on his motorcycle through the back roads and scenic byways of SE Idaho.

Looking to the future, Thomas hopes to continue serving as superintendent and helping mentor younger superintendents or those new to administration. Thomas said, “My professional life was blessed by veteran superintendents like Tom Campbell, Gordon Wolley, DeWayne Wren and Mike Friend. I hope to help others along the way.”

Starting Jan. 1, 2011, tax credit deductions will increase for donations to public institutions, including public education.

Idaho Sen. Brent Hill, the sponsor of the bill, said in an e-mail that the measure “will temporarily increase the existing income tax credit for donations” to public organizations. The new law, he said, is all in an effort “to help cope with recent budget reductions.”

Currently, tax deductions are limited to 20 percent of the donation to public organizations. Under the new law, deductions will be increased to 50 percent. The annual amount of the tax credit will be raised from $100 to $500—for couples filing on a joint return, the total tax credit could equal up to $1,000.

Sen. Hill further explained in the e-mail that donated funds can be sent to an organization of the donor’s choice.

“Contributions can be designated to go to the school district as a whole, to individual schools, or even to specific programs such as the orchestra or athletics,” he stated. “Donations to the Madison Education Foundation also qualify.”

Sen. Hill believes that significant contributions could be generated from the measure. “A donor who once thought he could only afford to give, say, $100 to the school could now give $400 and not have it cost him much more than the $100 he was willing to give up,” he wrote in the e-mail.

Madison School District will also benefit from the new law.

“The generosity of our patrons is particularly helpful to maintaining important programs for children,” said Dr. Geoffrey Thomas, Superintendent of Madison. “Any and all financial contributions are needed and welcome during this challenging financial period.”

The new law will remain in effect until 2016. Patrons can view the bill itself at the state web site. Click on “Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Note” to read the law’s full implications