By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The Alabaster City School System is looking to set up a nonprofit foundation in the next several months to help fund teacher grants and provide other monetary classroom support.

New Alabaster School Superintendent Dr. Wayne Vickers said the district is working to form a committee to help set up the foundation, which would give local residents and businesses a chance to support Alabaster’s schools.

Through a foundation, businesses and other supporters are able to donate money to a nonprofit fund. Each year, the interest generated from the foundation fund is used to provide school support above what Alabaster City Schools provides.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to everyone to be able to contribute. It shows the community is behind the schools,” Vickers said. “Most successful school systems have a foundation.”

Vickers said he has begun looking at school foundations being used in cities such as Sylacauga, Homewood and Hoover.

“We are just in the preliminary stages of it right now. I think it’s a great idea,” Vickers said. “I would think by the middle of the (school) year we should have an idea of which direction we would like to go with it.”

If the fund is established, teachers would be able to apply for grants for their classroom needs, Vickers said. If awarded a grant, teachers would also be required to show how they spent the money.

“Most school systems distribute about $50,000 or $60,000 each year in grants,” Vickers said. “I think it’s a great way to enhance the system’s instructional offerings.”