ABOVE: From left: Barb Iverson, Nancy Klemek and Betsy Tino of Partners in Education stand with a Cardinals banner at Mahoney Field, where they will be having their tailgate from 5 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 3. Brats, hot dogs and plant-based hot dogs will be available to go with chips, sauerkraut, cookies and water for $7 a person.

FAIRMONT – As the school year gets into full swing, Partners in Education (PIE) is also getting their ducks in a row for Fairmont teachers.

Treasurer Nancy Klemek described PIE as a community organization that raises money to give back to the school via grants to the teachers.

“Our basic fundraisers right now are we send out a newsletter and receive donations, and we do the tailgate for the homecoming game,” she said.

The newsletter goes out to alumni of Fairmont High School, which, as of now, is a database of over 7,000 people.

Examples of grants given last year include turkey and deer-shaped hunting targets for the archery class, sensory tools for special ed and a pottery wheel for the art department.

“[We try] to spread the money between the two schools,” Klemek said. “Not necessarily equally, but proportionately, depending what they ask for. We try and make sure that a large variety of students benefit from it in the different grades.”

For teachers who are looking for support, Klemek said they use a pretty straightforward procedure.

“Each teacher gets a letter at the beginning of the school year, and they can then apply for a grant,” she said. “There’s a whole form they fill out, then they run it through the administration at the school to make sure the project is acceptable. We get all of those grant proposals, and as a board, we look at them. It’s based on what our priorities are for the year, and how much they ask for. We usually place a $2,000 limit per grant request.”

The teachers have some time to decide what to request, but the deadline is steadily approaching.

“Applications come in the week of MEA,” President Betsy Tino said. “We as a board get our grant review within about three weeks. Right around the first week of November, the teachers know if they’ve been approved.”

Secretary Barb Iverson said it’s not always as simple as a grant being approved or denied outright.

“Sometimes we don’t give the whole amount they request,” she said. “Sometimes we’ll look at what if there’s a part of that grant request, if we can do part of it. If we can’t do it all, we might take one section.”

This opens up the possibility of multiple grants being submitted over two or more years to get the full set of something a teacher wishes to use.

The schools are also aware of what is selected and not by PIE, so the school can also choose to chip in to fulfill a full grant request if they desire.

Nowadays, Klemek said there are a couple of areas that have grown in popularity for grant funding.

“Robotics has been real big,” she said. “They’re not as much right now because they’ve got other funding, but that was real big for a number of years. Anything in the science department, because anything there costs money. We haven’t given as much recently, but that’s always been big. The special education stuff that’s grown in the last few years, because there’s a lot more available.”

Iverson said there have been cuts to special ed funding as well, making requests to PIE more common.

In addition to the newsletter and tailgate, a variety show had been held in February in previous years. There ended up being a scheduling conflict with Kids Against Hunger doing a similar event. While PIE is considering some ideas, a comeback for a winter event has not been confirmed yet.

By working for PIE, Tino said she can see improvements for students first-hand.

“I’m a current parent of kids in the school district, and I am a grad,” she said. “I get to see almost instant gratification of granting. My kids are either a grade above or grade below these grants that are getting funded. You get to see it in the hallways when you’re walking in, or you get to see the teacher. We’re excited to see we gave them that grant. I like to see when the grants are awarded and then the end product is visible to the parents in the community.”

As for the tailgate, Iverson said it started for PIE in the mid-90s. It was held in the high school commons area and featured chili. They switched to spaghetti in 2010, and this year the menu for the Oct. 3 event is a choice between brats, hot dogs and plant-based hot dogs to go with chips, sauerkraut, cookies and water for $7 a person.

Partners in Education is looking for people interested in joining their board. For more information, visit facebook.com/FairmontPartnersinEducation/ or email betsyslt@gmail.com.