The Eau Claire school board hopes to turn past discussions about setting up an educational foundation into action this year.

"I think we really need to set something up," board member Kathryn Duax said of a potential district fundraising arm. "We need this source of income."

The other six board members - Mike Bollinger, Carol Craig, Ken Faanes, Wendy Sue Johnson, Adam Shiel and Brent Wogahn - agreed but had differing opinions on creating an independent foundation or associating such efforts with an established entity, such as the Eau Claire Community Foundation.

The district had a foundation in the past, which either went into remission in 1992 or was disbanded in 2001, according to district records.

In recent years, school officials have taken steps toward setting up another entity, which could be used to fund initiatives in the future, such as field trips.

Earlier this year, the board eliminated district-funded field trips for 2009-10 because of a projected budget shortfall of more than $4 million. More than two hours into its meeting Monday night, the board began revisiting field trips, but details from that discussion were not available as of press time.

During the discussion on an educational foundation, Superintendent Ron Heilmann said the amount of administrative time it would take to oversee an independent effort would need to be taken into account considering recent administrative cuts.

Several board members leaned toward an independent foundation, including the importance of a foundation having its own identity.

Following a lengthy discussion, Craig, the board's president, directed district administrators to come back with more information on foundation management, including the approaches of other school districts.

No matter which approach the Eau Claire school district takes, Craig said she believes the district will have to invest some money to get a foundation off the ground.

Duax, however, said she isn't interested in spending money to hire a consultant.

Financing approved

In other matters, the board unanimously approved borrowing $6 million on a short-term basis to cover a gap created by a timing difference between when the district receives government revenue and when it has to pay bills and meet payroll. The district does not have sufficient working capital to fill that gap.

Robert W. Baird submitted the low bid with an interest rate of 1.0445 percent. The net payable interest during the loan period - Nov. 12 to Aug. 25 - is $49,270.

In the last nine years, the district's short-term borrowing has ranged from $6 million in 2009-10 to a high of $23 million in 2001- 02, said Dan Van De Water, executive director of business services.

O'Brien can be reached at 830-5838, 800-236-7077 or christena.obrien@ecpc.com.