50th Timeline: 1971 – First Summer School Opens

A previous post discussed Trustees and others working hard to overcome the early challenges of finding funds to found and start the new school.  Despite accomplishing so much, finances continued to be desperately tight in the early 1970s. The Board, parents, and administrators employed a wide variety of approaches to raise more money.  In 1971, a summer school opened for the first time. Such a program would be in operation off and on again, using different approaches, throughout the rest of FSMH’s history. In addition to summer school, the school and volunteers planned and operated a gem and mineral show, a coin and stamp show, and a Balalaika Concert.  Marketing efforts continued, funding signs throughout the region advertising the school. The Board and School also pled for funds from various Foundations. All of these plans did not lead to as much revenue as hoped, and the Board announced that it would rescind planned salary increases for the 1971-1972 school year. The fallout from this difficult decision was significant.  In the Fall of 1971, three valued Trustees resigned. After Betty Porter, the Upper School Principal, submitted a formal letter of protest, the Board restored the salary increase, though at the cost of another tuition increase the following year. The struggle to compensate faculty while balancing the needs of tuition-paying parents remained a difficult issue for the school for many, many years.