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Two Walworth County school districts considered for $25K grant

WALWORTH COUNTY — Lake Geneva-Genoa City UHS School District and Whitewater Unified School District are two of 29 finalists in Wisconsin to be considered for a $25,000 grant from America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education program.

More than 61,000 farmers shared their passion for rural education by nominating more than half the eligible school districts. Finalist schools were chosen for their program ideas and funding needs. Lake Geneva-Genoa City UHS School District and Whitewater Unified School District also benefitted from community support through numerous farmer nominations which strengthened the district’s application.

The grant re view process includes an online application scoring system based on merit, need and community support; a review by science and math teachers from ineligible school districts; and a farmer advisory council.

Now that the finalists have been chosen, the America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education Advisory Council, a group of 26 farm leaders from across the country, will select the winning grant applications. In 2012, the Monsanto Fund plans to award nearly $2.3 million to eligible school districts across the country. To see the full list of finalists, visit GrowRuralEducation.com.

America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education started with a successful pilot in Illinois and Minnesota, in which farmers were given the opportunity to nominate a public school district in 165 eligible counties in those two states. The Monsanto Fund awarded more than $266,000 to local schools in 16 CRDs. Now the program has expanded to 1,245 eligible counties in 39 states.