McHenry County Blog

Tucked away in the McHenry County College agenda for April 23rd’s meetings is this little factoid:

Donna Magnani, Executive Director, Friends of MCC Foundation, has been on leave since March 13, 2009.

Todd MacDonald, Assistant Vice President of Finance, has been selected to to serve as Interim Executive Director of the Foundation until a search process can take place and the position is permanently filled. This assignment is retroactive to March 14, 2009. The interim assignment includes a stipend for the additional responsibilities of $500.00 per month.

The amount of the stipend is consistent with what has been paid to others assuming similar additional roles and functions.

This Item #09-87 is interesting on several levels. The following questions arise:

• Why is someone on leave, if she is being replaced?
• If Ms. Magnani is “on leave,” is it with or without pay?

Given that the college board has granted magnificent continuing pay (over $200,000 a year through mid-2010) for little work, plus family health benefits through August 21, 2012—3½ years after he resigned his full-time job, those seems like a reasonable question.

I have one other question:

Might MacDonald have time to respond to the question I left after reviewing Walt Packard’s restaurant bill in Washington to New York City, when it appeared he included his wife’s meal?

Click to enlarge the graphic. What’s on the billboard, composed by Crystal Lake Heck of a Guy blogger Allan Showalter, is worth the time.

The report to the McHenry County College Board about its foundation’s fund raising efforts shows over $2 million collected for the McHenry County Promise, the program that promises to pay tuition for all MCC high school graduates.

The gifts range from $50 to $1 million.

“There is also a verbal pledge of a gift of property with an estimated value between $1 million and $1.5 million,” the report says.

The report to the McHenry County College Board about its foundation’s fund raising efforts shows over $2 million collected for the McHenry County Promise, the program that promises to pay tuition for all MCC high school graduates.

The gifts range from $50 to $1 million.

“There is also a verbal pledge of a gift of property with an estimated value between $1 million and $1.5 million,” the report says.

First a definition:

“B.S.” means “Baseball Stadium” when it appears in this story.

In the “B…S… Talks and Money Walks” category is the announcement by former McHenry County College Trustee Erv LeCoque that a $1 million contribution to an MCC scholarship program aimed at providing tuition and fees to any local high school graduate has been withdrawn because of the college’s push for said B.S.

LeCoque said he had been involved with McHenry County College for 12 years and had been helping solicit money for the campaign. In fact, he resigned from the MCC Foundation to devote himself to the scholarship program that is modeled after the $100 million endowment in Kalamzoo, Michigan.

The first person LaCoque talked to offered $1 million.

Then the B.S. idea came up.

LeCoque related how many people came to him asking about the B.S. concerns. He saw the community being divided.

He realized that he could not raise millions in a divided community.

As LeCoque explained, when you go out and ask for money, you can’t be on the defensive.

The B.S. led to the withdrawal of the $1 million scholarship offer.

The money is off the table, he said.

LeCoque predicted if the B.S. continued, it’s going to get worse.

If the B.S. continues, the money will never come back again. The McHenry County Promise scholarship program will lose its momentum.

he said.

Perhaps more significantly, one person told LeCoque,

First a definition:

“B.S.” means “Baseball Stadium” when it appears in this story.

In the “B…S… Talks and Money Walks” category is the announcement by former McHenry County College Trustee Erv LeCoque that a $1 million contribution to an MCC scholarship program aimed at providing tuition and fees to any local high school graduate has been withdrawn because of the college’s push for said B.S.

LeCoque said he had been involved with McHenry County College for 12 years and had been helping solicit money for the campaign. In fact, he resigned from the MCC Foundation to devote himself to the scholarship program that is modeled after the $100 million endowment in Kalamzoo, Michigan.

The first person LaCoque talked to offered $1 million.

Then the B.S. idea came up.

LeCoque related how many people came to him asking about the B.S. concerns. He saw the community being divided.

He realized that he could not raise millions in a divided community.

As LeCoque explained, when you go out and ask for money, you can’t be on the defensive.

The B.S. led to the withdrawal of the $1 million scholarship offer.

The money is off the table, he said.

LeCoque predicted if the B.S. continued, it’s going to get worse.

If the B.S. continues, the money will never come back again. The McHenry County Promise scholarship program will lose its momentum.

he said.

Perhaps more significantly, one person told LeCoque,