For the past 34 years, the City of Brentwood has awarded more than $8 million dollars to Williamson County Schools and community service providers. Schools, that serve Brentwood students, receive money for non-recurring costs such as books, technology, and special projects. The Brentwood Finance Department typically presents the oversized checks to community leaders at a regular City Commission Meeting in August, but this year, due to COVID-19, checks were mailed to the twelve Brentwood schools totaling more than $238,785.
Brentwood City Commissioner Susannah Macmillan said, “even in this uncertain time we are in now due to the COVID pandemic, because Brentwood operates in such a lean way, we are able to continue our annual financial commitment which our schools and service providers appreciate.” Brentwood and Ravenwood High Schools received $62,400 each while Brentwood, Sunset and Woodland Middle each received $15,600. Crockett, Edmondson, Jordan, Kenrose, Lipscomb, and Scales Elementary schools were also awarded $10,400. Sunset Elementary was awarded $4,785 due to its lower percentage of Brentwood students enrolled.
Williamson County School Board Member Sheila Cleveland who represents District 7 which includes Brentwood expressed her gratitude to the City of Brentwood for the generous contributions, past and present. “State and local taxes fund our schools, but there are additional individual school needs that are not within the budget and would not be possible to obtain without the support of the City of Brentwood and the school’s PTO organizations,” Cleveland said. “The pandemic has brought on a new focus for financial needs. Lipscomb Elementary Principal, Michelle Contich, saw the need for the teachers to have microphones in the classroom because some students were having a difficult time understanding the teachers through their masks. Woodland Middle’s Principal, Patrick Boyd, will be replacing obsolete Smartboards with new boards that are able to record live instructions so teachers can save their work and share with students who are quarantined or working remotely,” Cleveland added.
Since 1992, the City of Brentwood has donated more than $2 million to community service providers like the Brentwood YMCA, the Brentwood Civitan Ball Club, Brentwood Blaze, and the FiftyForward Martin Center. This year, a total of $102,000 was presented to the groups. This approach benefits taxpayers by allowing the Brentwood Parks and Recreation Department to serve primarily as a facility provider and avoid providing active recreation programs. This eliminates duplication of effort and reduces cost for the entire community.
Brentwood FiftyForward Martin Center Director, Barbara Hunt, thanks the City of Brentwood for the continued support of the Martin Center and the Brentwood community. “As we continue to work through all the changes brought on by the Coronavirus, the staff and members of the Martin Center cannot express enough how much the support from the City of Brentwood is appreciated,” Hunt said. “We will continue to assist our members and others in the community to stay connected, engaged, and empowered through your generosity during this time of change and challenge,” Hunt said. FiftyForward Executive Director Sallie Hussey added, “we are so happy to have the city’s continued support, especially right now. There is so much more work to do, the needs and demands have increased, and the challenges of providing services right now have increased as well. We are committed to doing it and we are thankful for your partnership.”
For the first time in 2019, the Mid-Cumberland Human Resource Agency, which serves senior citizens and other home-bound residents in our community was added to the recipient list. This year, they will receive $3,250.
