GOOD NEWS FOR THE RICH:
Big-bucks donors will no longer have to be dead to have a Palm Beach County school named for them.
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Big-bucks donors will no longer have to be dead to have a Palm Beach County school named for them.
A new policy, to be considered by the School Board on Wednesday, would allow living philanthropists to name the school of their choice.
Previously, schools were named only for the deceased, although there have been several exceptions. A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, named in 1997 with a $1 million donation, and Bak Middle School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, which got a $1.5 million gift in 2002, were named for living donors.
The prospect of school names being sold to the highest bidder draws shudders among some parents, although designating theaters, arenas and hospitals in honor of benefactors has become common practice across the country.
“It’s very hard to say no to this because I’m a drama parent and I know how much the schools need the money,” said Boca Raton mom Mindy Datz, whose children have participated in the drama academy at West Boca High. “But it sounds like it favors rich people. I hope they regulate it for fairness.”
The new policy allows philanthropists who make a “significant non-financial or financial contribution” to name their school. How much they would pay hasn’t been decided.
The prospect of an encounter with a school’s namesake has proved to be a special thrill for some students and parents. Parent Karyn Hoffman, whose daughter attends Dreyfoos, said her family relished their face-to-face with Dreyfoos, an inventor, engineer, philanthropist and chairman of a capital management firm.
“I was able to go up to him and thank him firsthand,” Hoffman said. “I’m glad they will allow living donors to make these donations so the children who benefit can meet them.”
The policy offers a variety of honoree options, ranging from short-term designations (10 years) to long-term (40 years) and “legacy” (indefinite). Donors also can name ancillary facilities on a campus, such as a building, conference room or media center.
The naming of school facilities for the living came back to haunt another South Florida school system. Broward’s decision in 1993 to rename Everglades Middle School in Fort Lauderdale in honor of retired administrator William Dandy caused little controversy — until three years later when he pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Despite some calls for a name change, it remains William Dandy Middle School. Dandy died in 2007.
Broward policy now requires that school honorees be dead for at least two years. The policy was approved after a scathing 2011 grand jury report, which accused the district of corruption and mismanagement.
Now, buildings within Broward schools, such as libraries, theaters and stadiums, can be named after living people, but not district employees, School Board members or other elected officials. The honorees must be out of public office or off the district payroll for at least two years.
The new Palm Beach policy also prevents the naming of schools for currently serving board members or employees. And it gives the school board the right to retract the name if the district believes the person has acted contrary to school board values.