INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — The fundraising goal needed to implement International Baccalaureate at Incline's public schools has more than doubled to $1 million, residents announced this week.

Long-time Incline Village resident Tom Bruno — a real estate agent with Chase International and the chief fundraising guru the past three years for the community's Red, White and Tahoe Blue Fourth of July festival — voiced support this week for the K-12 curriculum overhaul, saying he has signed on to lead its money-raising campaign.

“The figures initially given are too low; my goal is $1 million over the next three years,” Bruno said. “We want to do this correctly — I think that's going to be a pretty accurate figure.”

Initially, Incline resident Gary Lee estimated fundraising to cost about $427,000 over the next 10 years.

“I saw the same thing with Red, White and Tahoe Blue — there's a learning curve,” Bruno said. :As we progress with this, we are learning.”

The $427,000 figure still is accurate in regard to costs for teacher training, annual fees and IB application processes, Lee said. The plan is for the 11th- and 12th-grade program (the Diploma Programme) to begin at the start of the 2011-2012 school year, with the entire K-12 curriculum (including the Primary and Secondary years programs) launching at all three campuses by 2012-13.

In all, Lee said, about 85 teachers will be trained.

Other fees exist, however, such as IB textbook purchases and Diploma Programme testing fees — money not included in the initial $427,000 estimate.

“That money gives us enough to get IB running; it's a minimum operating budget, so to speak,” Lee said.

With this week's announcement of more money to raise also came the announcement of a new community group — “IV in IB” — designed to not only seek donations from residents, but also to better inform them of the outcome of their investments.

“We are focusing on reaching out to all members of the community, including parents, teachers, students, business owners, and all other community members to include them in the IB process so we can shape IB to fit the Incline Village community,” said Incline resident and local businessman JJ Mueller, in an e-mail statement to the Bonanza. “IB is going to be funded by the community, and so it needs to be inclusive of the community.

“Once the community is engaged, our focus can shift to fundraising.”

Mueller is working with Bruno to finalize the $1 million budget, which should be available for the public soon.

“I'm a money manager and a CPA and we're going to do it right,” Mueller said in the statement. “We are recruiting a Board of Directors of highly regarded community members, and we are creating a special purpose IB account so the money will be there.”

Funding misconceptions

A goal of $1 million, Lee and Bruno said, is an accurate figure to address the funding gaps the community needs to address.

What isn't an accurate figure, Lee said, is the near $1.5 million bill offered by New York resident Lisa McLoughlin, who oversees the anti-IB website: www.truthaboutib.com.

McLoughlin estimates the community will need to raise $1.466 million to accommodate the K-12 curriculum, as referenced in a recent guest column by Incline resident John Eppolito, and detailed in a recent e-mail to the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza.

In her estimate, McLoughlin puts a $700,000 price tag on teacher training, annual fees and IB application processes, in contrast to Lee's $427,000 figure, an increase McLoughlin says will result from inflation over the next 10 years and potential turnover at the schools, thus causing new teachers to be trained.

“She is making general conclusions and assumptions about the funding, and that's not the right thing to do,” Lee said. “That, coupled with the inflation estimates — it's wildly exaggerated.”

Another misleading number McLoughlin presents, Lee said, is her estimate the community must foot almost $300,000 in annual stipends for the three IB coordinators; since the IB coordinators are also teachers, their salaries are compensated trough the school district.

Estimated amount of funds to be raised, according to Lisa McLoughlin, with www.truthaboutib.org, according to an e-mail obtained by the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza Annual fees - currently, $9,600/7,000/7,000 with a 10% discount on the MYP and PYP if you go for all 3. That totals $22,200 per year. BUT - IBO has steadily increased its fees each year. In 2004, the IBDP fee was $8,020, so if we peoject that forward, the $9,600 should become at least $12,500 by 2019 - I'll go with an average of $25,000 per year which will equal: $250,000 — http://www.ibo.org/become/fees/ Teacher training - There are three (3) levels of IB training. Using Lee's number of 85 teachers x $1,500 x 3, we come up with $382,500. There's a problem with this, however, as there is often teacher turnover (maternity leaves, etc.) which require new teachers to be trained. Therefore, I will figure a minimum of 5 additional teachers per school over the course of 10 years, which brings the total to: $450,000 IB Coordinator Stipends - In addition to their regular salary, teachers who become IB Coordinators will be paid additional stipends. I'm sure NV is a little less than NY, so a fair estimate would be $8,000 per Coordinator (3) plus stipends for an EE and CAS Coordinator at the HS level at $2500 a piece, which would bring that figure to $29,000 x 10 yrs = $ 290,000 Student Fees - For every student that takes even one IB exam, the district must pay $129 per student registration fee for the DP. At the MYP level, the fee is $60 per student PLUS a $640 per subject "moderation fee". I would need more precise enrollment numbers to give you a truly accurate figure, but let's figure 80 DP and 140 MYP + 6 subjects as a minimum = $22,600 per year x 10 = $226,000 (expect these fees to rise as well) http://www.ibo.org/become/fees/assessmentfees/ Mailing costs - Cost of sending IB exams out to external examiners, average of $5,000 per year x 10 yrs. = $50,000 Textbooks and materials for IB courses + purchase of IB materials - 10 year. min. of $200,000 In addition, each school must have a copy machine dedicated to IB. As I tally up the above figures, I come up with $1,466,000. This number does NOT include: Busing for out of area students, teacher salaries, substitute salaries, curriculum development or student exam fees - which are currently $88 per exam.