USD 257 Board of Education convened a public forum Monday evening in which they informed a gathering of about 60 of their intention to seek guidance from the Allen County District Court regarding the school district’s role as trustee of the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.
The majority of the evening, however, was given over to Bowlus backers, who made polite but insistent appeals that the district maintain its link with the fine arts center, or at least be a part of the solution to preserve the institution they cherish.
The board, under the will of philanthropist Thomas Bowlus, was named trustee of the fine arts center, making the citizens of Iola and students of USD 257 its unique beneficiaries.
Board president Tony Leavitt opened the meeting by providing some background regarding the board’s decision to seek the intercession of the courts.
“As elected officials, we have a responsibility and accountability to the citizens and the children we represent to be as efficient as possible with the funds we are given.”
Currently, explained Leavitt, the district pays $143,000 to the Bowlus, which provides the facilities for a number of fine arts classes. Given the “toxic” school funding decisions emanating from the statehouse in recent years and the perennial reductions in revenue, Leavitt continued, the board is forced, in allocating its capital outlay funds, “to make very tough decisions, like choosing between fixing leaking roofs, buying buses, repairing a track, funding technology, and on and on.
“As school board members, we’re concerned about a myriad of issues related to school funding or lack thereof. And as Bowlus trustees, we worry about being connected to a financially challenged entity like schools.” So, continued Leavitt, one of the questions the board will pose to the courts, is this: “What are the options for separating the Bowlus from the school district so that the Bowlus can move forward on its own and thrive to fulfill the mission of exposing and providing fine arts opportunities to the children of the community?”
Leavitt, speaking on the board’s behalf, affirmed his affection for the Bowlus and for the vision codified by Thomas Bowlus a half-century earlier. “There has been…some concern that the Bowlus would lapse and go to the University of Kansas endowment” — a condition set forward in the will, should the district ever fall down on its end of the bargain. “But we are being proactive in asking the court for guidance so that does not happen.
“Do we know what the future holds?” asked Leavitt. “No. But our hope is that the guidance from the court will allow us to construct a plan that will best fit all parties and will carry us into the future. Thomas Bowlus had an amazing vision and plan 50 years ago. We want that same type of vision to continue for the next 50 years. But that will take a commitment to forward thinking, adaptation and change.”
IF THERE WAS ever any doubt that the Bowlus holds a cherished place in the affections of the community — at least for the sort who would turn out to a special meeting in its name — it was put to bed Monday evening. The rest of the forum saw speaker after speaker give testimony in favor of the cultural institution.
Local bank president Jim Gilpin rose first. He pointed the board’s attention to a similar public meeting convened by the school board in the fall of 1987. The schools then, too, were facing challenges. From that meeting, however, a task force emerged — of which Gilpin was a member — which, in time, and with the help of other volunteer organizations like the Bowlus Commission and Friends of the Bowlus, was able to address the majority of the issues that had initially rattled the school board then.
“With hundreds of events scheduled [at the Bowlus] each year,” said Gilpin, “I think there’s no doubt that the center is an important resource for the school, for the city, for the county, and even for the region.
“I have a clear understanding of your dual role,” said Gilpin, who was himself once a member of the school board and a Bowlus Trustee. “I find it helpful, though, to recognize that our records from that time show that Mr. Bowlus thought long and hard about his legacy. That after much deliberation, he entrusted his gift to the board of education, the group responsible for providing for our children the best educational opportunity possible. … To be trustee, he didn’t name the city of Iola or Allen County. … I firmly believe Mr. Bowlus got it right when he named the board of education of USD 257 as trustee of his trust.”
