Baldwin-Whitehall's School Board is looking for ways to establish alternative means of generating revenue for the district to avoid using taxpayer money for some district facility projects.

Board members are considering the creation of a non-profit education foundation to collect funds from district alumni, as well as local businesses and residents.

"The thrust of what he wanted wasn't as far out as some thought," Superintendent Lawrence Korchnak said of board member Martin Schmotzer, who sparked the education foundation discussion during the March 5 agenda meeting.

Korchnak recommended the district establish a non-profit education foundation to develop relationships with local businesses and Baldwin-Whitehall alumni.

Hampton School District, Korchnak's previous employer, used a foundation to run its annual 5K event at Hartwood Acres. Korchnak said the foundations' efforts generated thousands of dollars for the school district during his time there.

Vice President Nancy Sciulli DiNardo considers now as "ripe" a time as ever to start an education foundation because of the high school reconstruction.

Department wings and classrooms can bear the names of charitable alumni and local business owners, she said.

Board member George Pry noted that Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development offers tax breaks to corporations for contributing to education foundations through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program.

The $75 million-a-year program allows businesses to receive 75 percent tax credits for contributions up to $200,000 per year. The percentage is raised to 90 if the business agrees to contribute the same amount two years in a row.

Another idea up for discussion is the creation of parking fees for students, administrators and faculty.

Schmotzer's plan called for parking fees for teachers and administrators only.

His proposal states all funds raised through the proposal would go to the maintenance and improvement of exterior areas and facilities -- fields, landscaping and parking lots.

Both ideas were voted on individually at Wednesday's voting meeting, so vote counts were not available before press time.

Most of Schmotzer's fellow members disagreed with the idea of charging teachers and administrators $10 per day -- his proposed figure -- to park in district lots.

"To jumpstart the thing, (the parking proposal) needs to be implemented, otherwise it will be a very long and hard process," Schmotzer said.

He estimates the revenue from the parking fees will be around $660,000 per year.

Schmotzer considers the proposed parking fee no more unreasonable than the costs required to park downtown.

Several of his peers, however, fear charging teachers will drive them away.

They would rather charge students, if anyone, because of the investment Baldwin-Whitehall puts in busing.

The district spends more than $4 million for transportation each year, President Kevin Fischer said.