Dive Brief:

• Rains Independent School District, outside Dallas, has an unusual funding source amounting to roughly $8-10 million, drawn from historical land ownership and oil and gas revenues.
• In a recent interview with District Administration, Superintendent John Rouse explained the district only has access to the interest unless it seeks approval from the county court, but it has used the interest to pay for supplemental programs or operations.
• Recently, Rouse made an unusual move, pulling $3 million from the fund to pay for a new football stadium.

Dive Insight:

Rouse’s decision offers a glimpse at the kind of decision-making school districts have to undertake in meeting the unique needs of each community. As Rouse explains it, the district’s schools were in good shape and had recently been remodeled, but the stadium was old and hazardous.

“In Texas you bring a lot of people in for Friday night football games,” Rouse explained. “Friday night football brings in 2,000 people. There are very few other things that we do that bring in that many people to one event.”

He said he hopes the venue of the stadium allows for athletics to continue to play an important role in building students’ character and abilities: “We’re a pretty small district and we compete against much bigger schools. Our kids work hard and the coaches work hard and we try to teach kids important values along the way—how to be better men. Hopefully, some lessons in athletics will accomplish that.”