Unexpected gift yields hefty return

An unexpected gift came late for Arapahoe Charter School, but a $47,720 windfall from the state’s unclaimed property program was well worth the wait.

The money actually came five years after it reached the state treasurer’s office, originating from a payment of some sort the school made in its first year of operation in 1997. School officials have asked the state treasury department to research its origin.

Tom McCarthy, the school’s administrative director, said a Friday morning presentation of the check in front of the student body was enhanced by the appearance of a camera crew from the ABC-TV show “Good Morning America,” giving the 384-student school national media exposure.

As for the money, McCarthy said “it will go to the bank” and await a decision by the school’s board of directors on how it is spent.

“There are lots of things,” McCarthy said of uses for the funds. “Over the course of the last few years, budgets have been cut, but we have been committed to our staff. We have not laid off any staff during that time. We had to sacrifice supplies and resources.”

Another possible use is when the school adds the ninth grade in August. The K-8 school got permission for the extra grade recently from the state board of education.

“It might give us some start-up money,” McCarthy said. “It is whatever our board decides and I am sure they will continue to spend in an effective manner.”

The school plans to cap the new ninth grade class enrollment at 50 students, with the addition of two teachers and possibly additional space.

He said the Arapahoe school’s money was a share of more than $370,000 that went to public schools, along with the UNC university system and community colleges.

McCarthy said there were rumors early in the day that the Arapahoe school had received $229,000, in part because that was the amount on the overall Department of Public Instruction check unveiled by State Treasurer Janet Cowell.

Pamlico Community College President Cleve Cox was on hand for the community college system.

McCarthy said the ABC-TV crew was from a segment called “Show Me The Money.”

He said the school was contacted several weeks ago by the state treasurer’s office and asked about its willingness to participate.

The specific amount was not revealed until the presentation, although local school officials had a ballpark idea.

“We knew it was large,” he said.

The school’s business director Chris Watson said the charter school would like to know the origin of the money.

“We have some dates and we know it was from a transaction very early in the school’s history, in 1997,” he said.

The school operates on a budget this year of $3.5 million.