For more than 30 years, first grade teacher Tammy Robertus has watched Elder Grove teachers stretch limited resources, often spending their own money on classroom supplies, science projects and field trips.
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Now, a parent-led organization is trying to ease some of that burden. The Grove Foundation — which stands for Generating Revenue for Opportunity, Vision and Education — raised $19,000 for supplemental classroom supplies across the district.
The money will be split among 24 elementary teachers and 14 middle school teachers, with each classroom teacher expected to receive about $500.
"The teachers spend a lot of their own money for different things, Mother's Day gifts, Christmas gifts, extra art supplies or science supplies," Robertus said.
Robertus says teachers have even had to fund their own field trips.
"The money, I mean, we have to raise money to go on a field trip so it will be very nice to have," Robertus said.
The need goes beyond basic supplies. Robertus says the school currently lacks a math curriculum entirely, leaving teachers to piece together their own lessons.
"We have no math curriculum right now. We're supplementing and creating our own math lessons and Teacher Pay Teacher — you buy your own lessons through them," Robertus said.
While teachers say the money is appreciated, district leaders stress the fundraiser only addresses part of a much larger funding problem.
Elder Grove Middle School Principal Joe Beeson says the Grove Foundation formed after the district's latest failed levy campaign — and this school year marks nearly two decades since Elder Grove last passed one.
"Last year we had an unsuccessful levy campaign that left a lot of our community informed but frustrated," Beeson said.
Related: Elder Grove School turns to donations to save reading curriculum after years without levy
That frustration, Beeson says, is what sparked the Grove Foundation into existence.
"This is a group of our community members that have students that go to school here that saw a problem and wanted to be part of the solution. So they went to local businesses that live in our district and went looking for money to help support staff," Beeson said.
The foundation's first major effort came in the spring, when it raised roughly $100,000 to fund a three-year reading curriculum for kindergarten through fifth grade. Grove Foundation President Brittany Reiker says that campaign was a race against the clock.
"The Grove Foundation has really stepped into the place of there's a gap between our school being base-level funded and since we're generally not likely to pass a mill levy, the Grove Foundation said, 'Let's stand in the gap and see if we can fill that,'" Reiker said.
Reiker says the foundation launched in March 2026 during what she calls the district's reading curriculum crisis, when then-community members were urged to help fund a replacement reading curriculum for the district's K-5 students.
"One other mom, Ashley, who's a board member for the Grove Foundation, had reached out. We said, 'How can we help?' And the brainstorming turned into, 'We should start a booster club of sorts but based for academics not necessarily athletics, as you would think of a typical booster club,'" Reiker said.
Reiker says the foundation's vision was rooted in the idea that the Elder Grove community's business owners and families were already financially tied to the district — and could be mobilized to invest directly in students.
"How do we get these families to support the success of their children academically within school, Elder Grove School District? Let's start an academic foundation where these families have the opportunity to pour back into the children of Elder Grove School District," Reiker said.
The $19,000 raised in the most recent campaign was specifically aimed at getting money directly into classrooms. Reiker says a survey of teachers revealed the scale of out-of-pocket spending.
"A part of a teacher's contract is that they're given a stipend amount of money that they're allowed to use for renewal of classroom supplies. Our teachers are given $100 annually. We surveyed the teachers and on average the teacher said from their own pocket they're paying over $500 on average annually," Reiker said.
Beeson says the moment community members learned about the $100 annual supply stipend, they were moved to act.
"Once we gave them the facts that our school is only able to provide $100 of funding for our staff to help provide supplemental resources in the classroom, they were aghast and chose to take it upon themselves to be part of the solution," Beeson said.
Between the reading curriculum campaign and the classroom supply drive, the Grove Foundation has now raised roughly $120,000 total for the district. But organizers and educators alike acknowledge that fundraising campaigns alone cannot guarantee long-term stability.
"This funding, which is great where they fundraise for us, it's nice, but it doesn't follow through. It's just year to year. For a levy, you would be guaranteed it every year," Robertus said.
Beeson echoed that sentiment directly.
"What the Grove Foundation has done for us is a short-term solution to a much bigger problem. And I think the levy is necessary," Beeson said.
"At the end of this school year, it'll be 20 years since we've had a successful levy passed in our district," Beeson said.
Robertus says the contrast between the district's bond success and levy failures is something she has witnessed firsthand over her three decades at Elder Grove.
"We're very good at passing bonds, building the buildings. Since I've been here, it's probably four times or more that we've had a bond pass, but we also need a levy to go with it because you have to clean more, you have more staff in it. It's just more electricity, more utilities as well," Robertus said.
Both Robertus and Beeson say the distinction between bonds and levies may be at the heart of why levies continue to fail.
"With bonds, you physically have something. Levies can go to teacher salaries; they can go to utilities. It's maybe just not as visible," Robertus said.
"I don't know anyone who wants their taxes to increase. And I feel as though the voting public, not everyone is well versed on the difference between a levy and a bond. When they see a nice new middle school, they see why do they need additional money when the bond is for the building and the levy is for the staffing that goes into the building," Beeson said.
Reiker says property tax perceptions also play a role in levy resistance among Elder Grove residents.
"The homes from a general perspective in Elder Grove District, we look at our property tax bill and we go, 'Man, we're contributing so much money to our school district. There's no way that could be being used responsibly. So I'm not going to pass a mill levy for you to irresponsibly use additional finances,'" Reiker said.
Despite the challenges, Beeson says the energy behind the Grove Foundation is giving district leaders hope that the community's relationship with levy campaigns may be shifting.
"Our voting public for the last 20 years has not been behind that. But with the motivation from the parents that we have and the community members that are part of the Grove Foundation, we're hoping that's going to change," Beeson said.
Reiker says the foundation's long-term goal is to move away from rushed, reactive fundraising and build a sustainable model that benefits teachers, donors and students alike.
"We don't ever want to have to rush, scramble, beg. We want to just be in a place where the donors and the students and the teachers, everyone feels like it's a mutually beneficial relationship," Reiker said.
For Robertus, the stakes are simple...and personal.
"I get where people don't want to raise their own taxes, but we need to support our schools and support our kids," Robertus said.
