In 1992, a group of Mountain Brook community leaders formed the Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation in response to concern over lack of state and federal funding for our community’s public school system.
Today, the issue of limited government funding still remains while the cost to educate our children continues to increase. We strive to bridge the gap and ensure that the quality of our schools meets Mountain Brook’s standard.
Please join us as we set out on this exciting endeavor to...
$3,000,000 BY DECEMBER 31, 2025
3 MILLION 30 YEARS TO HONOR
Each year, the school system’s requests surpass our available funds, which are based on an established spending calculation to protect the Endowment’s corpus. To better meet the needs of our school system and students, the Foundation’s Board of Directors has approved the “Fund Our Future” campaign—only the fourth such campaign in our 30 year history.
The “Fund Our Future” campaign has set a goal of $3 million to grow our endowment to more than $15 million . This will allow us to grant $750,000 or more each year to our school system.
CAMPAIGN CHAIRS
Caroline Little
Class of ‘97
Mary Catherine Pritchett
Class of ‘97
CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Frederick Belden III
Alexia Borden
Mary Kathryn Bryant
Renee Clements
Stephen Favrot
Amy Kathryn Gannon
Ellen Gillespy
Henry Graham
Jemison Jones
Edgar Marx
Marion Marx
Zach Mather
Ashley Miles
Allyson Mouron
Wally Nall
Kam Patton
Billy Pritchard IV
Spencer Ragland
Charlotte Russ
Amanda Sokol
Kevin Sokol
Lee Thuston
Will Thuston
Ben Wallerstein
The Mountain Brook Difference
Mountain Brook Schools is a high-performing public school district in the state of Alabama, which was recently ranked as the top non-magnet public school in the state. Our school system is also one of the most valued benefits of living in the Mountain Brook community, and it is an asset that needs to be protected.
Help us meet our fundraising goal to support our schools and keep our community strong.
GIVEN TO SCHOOLS OVER 30 YEARS
THE FOUNDATION IS THE DIFFERENCE THAT MAKES A GOOD SCHOOL SYSTEM A GREAT ONE.
Mountain Brook Schools Funding 101
The largest expense of the school system is personnel costs (salaries and benefits), which comprises approximately 83% of the Mountain Brook Schools budget. This expense cannot be reduced without increasing class sizes and/or eliminating critical personnel, which is not an option for the Mountain Brook Schools standard.
The remaining approximate 17% of the budget includes essential expenses such as insurance, utilities, maintenance, and important instructional materials. This leaves very limited discretionary funds to be innovative.
“State funding fluctuates during economically trying times. The Foundation has been a stable resource to Mountain Brook Schools throughout its 30-year tenure. This funding allows the school system to innovate new and creative methods to engage students. Our improvement over the years has been positively affected by the Foundation’s contributions.”
Dr. Dicky Barlow Superintendent, Mountain Brook Schools
Our Funding Formula
When the Foundation was established, its Board of Directors set a very stringent granting policy to protect our endowment and ensure our ability to support the schools in perpetuity. This formula is:
5% of assets, averaged over the previous twelve quarters with a minimum payout of 4% and a maximum payout of 6% of the current market value of assets.
This has proven to be a dependable funding source even during uncertain financial times. Since its inception, the Foundation has granted nearly $11 million to the school system.
Your support will:
1. Provide engaging professional development for all teachers
2. Encourage and support forward-thinking ideas
3. Ensure equitable access to emerging technology
4. Fund academic assistance programs
The Foundation is governed with bylaws to ensure we are able to support our schools’ needs and expenses for generations to come.
A General Note on Mountain Brook Schools Fundraising
There are other ways to support the individual schools in our system such as the PTO. Those donated dollars are spent that year and focus on resources, projects and events for that specific school.
The Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation is the only organization that operates as a non-profit with an endowment fund* designed to support all six of our schools.
*An endowment fund is invested to provide long-term support in perpetuity for a non-profit organization. Most endowments, like ours, are designed to keep the principle (gifts from donors) intact while the income is distributed using stringent rules set by the organization’s bylaws.
Decades of Growth & Stewardship
The Foundation has been a careful steward of its resources from day one. Our primary goal is to build an endowment that lasts. To do so, our finance committee is comprised of board members who work with seasoned investment professionals to both protect and grow our resources for future generations.
Yet, even with careful stewardship, the school system’s needs and requests exceed our available funds.
The Problem
For the past 5 years, the school system’s grant request has surpassed the budgeted grant allocation. This leaves some ideas and projects underfunded.
This campaign serves to make up the difference ensuring our community’s schools stay strong.
Our schools are the backbone of Mountain Brook’s thriving community. When they are well-resourced and funded, they become environments where students flourish academically, socially, and emotionally—preparing them for future success and to contribute meaningfully to society.
Moreover, high-quality schools attract families and businesses as well as boost local economies and property values.
Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation
THE SOLUTION
Give to the Fund Our Future campaign
It’s time to build on what was established in 1992. A gift to the Foundation is tax deductible. Even better, it is protected to grow and give far into the future.
For example, if you were to donate $30,000, that initial gift would grow within the endowment (left side) while the amount distributed to the schools also increases (right side). SUPPORT
INVESTMENT
TO THE SCHOOLS
97% OF GRADUATES WILL ATTEND COLLEGE.
51%
FROM A COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OR OUTSIDE
786 NATIONAL MERIT FINALISTS SINCE1968
4,448 STUDENTS SCHOOLWIDE
MOUNTAIN BROOK HIGH SCHOOL
Named Top 100 STEM School in the United States of America
FOR CLASS OF 2025 25.2
765
NATIONAL BOARD-CERTIFIED TEACHERS
FACULTY & STAFF
65
11,733 HOURS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT LOGGED IN 2023 TO 2024 AT NO PERSONAL COST TO OUR TEACHERS
Keep Mountain Brook ahead of the curve
Technology is a critical component of education. It changes rapidly and staying current is essential to student and school system success. Technology also accounts for the second largest non-personnel expense in the school system’s budget and continues to increase by at least 5% each year. Government funding cannot keep up with these growing costs and is not flexible enough to meet all of the school system’s technology needs, which makes the Foundation’s role as an additional funding sources even more vital.
Consider this: In addition to the increasing hardware and infrastructure costs, education software has shifted largely to subscription-based models, which generate monthly and annually reoccurring expenses.
Further, advances like AI mean our educators need to be ahead of the curve and learn how to teach our students to responsibly use this and other emerging tools.
TECHNOLOGY FUNDED BY THE FOUNDATION OVER THE YEARS:
• Chromebooks
• District Website
• Digital Monitors
• Web Cameras
• Promethean Boards
• Wireless Access Points
• Sound Systems with Safety Features
• Google Suite
• Seesaw
• Podcast Rooms
• OverDrive Education
• Virtual Reality Software
“
Teachers are key. It is so important for them to always have opportunities to learn, from each other and others, so that the school system can sustain improvement year after year.”
Dr. Charles Mason Former Superintendent, Mountain Brook Schools
Continue educating our educators
Mountain Brook teachers logged 11,733 hours of professional development during the 2023-2024 school year at no personal costs thanks in large part to the Foundation.
HIGHLIGHTS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES: Math and Reading Coaches
As a result of Foundation funding, each elementary school has its own math and reaching coach. In these roles, the coaches directly support classroom teachers and help their students meet statemandated requirements.
Mountain Brook Schools Learning Conference
The Foundation fully funds this annual summer educational conference for Mountain Brook teachers as well as public and private school teachers across the southeast. Our school system’s educators are invited to be featured speakers, demonstrating our district’s position as a leader, and teachers receive continuing education credit for their time.
Proactive State-Mandated Training
The Foundation empowers the school system to stay ahead of statemandated requirements. In 2020, for example, Science of Reading training funded by the Foundation prepared teachers and students for the Read Act, which was instituted in 2023.
Stipends for Summer Learning Groups
Foundation funding allows our school system to pay stipends above market rate for teachers’ voluntary time outside of the classroom working in district-approved collaborative summer learning groups.
Encourage innovation in our classrooms
The Institute for Innovation is a program established in 2015 by Mountain Brook Schools to cultivate a culture of innovation among our teachers. Educators are encouraged to apply for a grant through the Institute for Innovation, which is fully funded by the Foundation, to transform the learning taking place in their classrooms. The Foundation funds three to five teacher projects each year. With additional funding, the Foundation could grow this program as well as the culture of innovation in our schools.
360 DEGREES OF MATH ENGAGEMENT: AN INSTITUTE FOR INNOVATION TEACHER GRANT Faculty Team: Morgan Chatham (Mountain Brook High School)
Innovation doesn’t have to be about the latest technology. Morgan Chatham wanted to encourage her math students to be more engaged and interactive in her classroom. “I wanted to change the way I teach math and knew that there had to be a way to get the students engaged and keep them from shutting down when the content gets challenging.”
Her vision became a reality when she was awarded an Institute for Innovation grant in 2018. She installed projectors in her classroom and whiteboards on every wall to create a 360 degree interactive work space. The simple idea worked, and now all the math classrooms in the High School and Junior High are set up based on this Institute for Innovation project.
Students using an Institute for Innovation interactive work space in the classroom.
I will shout from the rooftops how grateful I am for the Foundation. To know that they listened to my idea, thought it was valuable and trusted me to run with it, that is just an incredible indication of support.”
Morgan Chatham Math Teacher, Mountain Brook Schools
