By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA – Schools within Helena have a solid reputation in the Shelby County School district thanks to hard working instructors, great facilities, classroom equipment and more, but without the proper funds, the schools would not be able to perform nearly as well.

To help the schools financially, the Helena City Council donated a total of $110,000 at the Council Meeting on Monday, April 22, as Helena Elementary School, Helena Intermediate School, Helena Middle School and Helena High School each received a check for $25,000. In addition, a $10,000 donation was made to the HHS band.

The $110,000 donation was an increase from a $96,000 donation made in 2018. The funds were made possible because of the surplus available in the 1-cent tax fund.

Helena Mayor Mark Hall presented the checks to each school principal and emphasized that the city continues to work hard to provide the schools with what they need.

“It’s always a special night when we can give back to the school from the 1-cent fund,” Hall said. “When we have a surplus, we give it back to the schools so the administrators can pick and choose what they need mostly. Maybe it’s computers, instructional training or whatever they need, we want to help as much as we can because we know good schools build good communities. Without the hard work of these administrators and what they do, we would not be the city or the community that we are.”

Those accepting the checks were Helena Elementary School Principal Jeff Norris, Helena Intermediate Principal Kathy Paiml, Helena Middle School Principal Andrew Gunn and Helena High School Principal April Brand.