About Us

Mission Statement

Our Mission is to facilitate private and corporate support for our school. The Foundation is organized to promote, enhance, and enable educational opportunities and school improvement activities in the Madison Central School District.

Who We Are

An investment in education is an investment in the future. That is why the Madison Central School Educational Foundation was established in 1995. A group of alumni and friends who believed in the Madison Schools and wanted to support the future of our students are helping to build to create an organization which encourages and rewards innovation in the classroom, and to provide educational opportunities for students and staff beyond what is provided for within the school budget.

The Foundation is governed by a volunteer board of directors that represent parents, alumni, community and business leaders who seek funds and set policies according to the by-laws. The Foundation is a separate legal entity from the Madison School District, but cooperates with the district to enhance and enrich education. The MCS Educational Foundation has a separate scholarship fund and is building a designated endowment fund for innovative educational grants. Our board of directors determines the distribution of the fund's earnings.

The Madison Central School Educational Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax-exempt organization. Tax-deductible contributions to the Foundation ensure support of the students and staff of the Madison School District today and tomorrow. Contribution options include planned giving, matched giving, annual fund campaigns, in-kind contributions and volunteering. Find more information on donating on our Donations Page.

Board Members

Renae Prostrollo

Executive Director
Renae (Bottum) Prostrollo grew up in Tulare, SD. She attended Dakota State University earning a degree in Elementary Education and Special Education. Renae was a Lady T basketball player at DSU for 4 years and ran track for one year while attending DSU, graduating in Dec. 2005.

After college, Renae taught one year in Chester, SD before returning to Madison to teach Middle School for 6 years. Renae retired from the teaching profession to focus on her children, before joining the Foundation in January 2017.

Renae and her husband Nick, MHS Class of ‘99, have 3 children, Logan, Parker, and Oakley.

Jennifer Gross

President
Jennifer Gross, our chairperson on the Foundation, joined the board when she and her husband moved back to Madison in 2005 from Minnesota. Jennifer is a Madison native but attended college in Nebraska at UNL then moved to Minnesota before returning to Madison. Jennifer spent most of her career as a social worker in Nebraska and Minnesota and currently works in the electric cooperative industry. Jennifer spends her days educating and communicating the need for safe, reliable, and affordable electricity. She travels to schools, trade-shows, and community events educating people about electricity. When she isn’t discussing electricity she can be found on the golf course or jogging around town or exercising at the Community Center. She is married to Jason Maxwell, also a Madison native, who works as a CPA, and they have 4 active girls. The oldest daughter is in college, another in high school and the two youngest in middle school. Jason and Jennifer can be found following them around the golf course, tennis court, swimming pool, and softball field.

Jennifer volunteers to serve on the board of directors for the Foundation because she believes there is no greater gift we can give our children than a high achieving education. She believes educating our children to the highest level possible will open doors for them and provide the best opportunity for a successful future. The Foundation has been in existence for about 25 years, but only active for about 10 years, with a part-time executive director. Like a snowball on top of a hill, it begins small but as it rolls downhill it continues to grow and suddenly it can’t be stopped, that is our Foundation!

Lee Threadgold

Vice President
Lee was raised in Menno, SD and graduated from Flandreau High School. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in education and a Master’s Degree in Management Information System from Dakota State University. He has worked at Prostrollo Motor Company for 38 years in a number of capacity but mainly as salesman. He is also an online adjunct instructor for SDSU for the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department. Lee was a Trojan football player for 4 years and is an active support of Dakota State University Athletics.

A strong commitment to education and community is the reason for his years of service as member and Vice President of MCSEF. Lee lives in Madison wife Sid of 43 years and have four children all graduates of Madison High School. They are members of the St. Thomas Catholic Church. He enjoys spending time with his 7 grandchildren and following area high school and college athletic events and cheering for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Marli Wiese

Secretary
Marli has lived in the Madison area her entire life. She and her husband, Reggie, are both 1971 graduates of Lake Central High School (name later changed to Madison Central High School). She attended Nettleton Business College in Sioux Falls and later moved to Madison where they have been farming since 1976. They have three children and eleven grandchildren who all attended Madison schools. She is an active member at West Center Baptist Church where she serves as a deacon and with the music ministry. Hobbies are reading, camping, and attempting to attend most of her grandchildren’s extracurricular activities. Marli is currently serving in the SD House of Representatives where she serves on the Education Committee and Health & Human Services Committee. She volunteers on the board of directors because her family has benefited from the excellent education her family has received over the years in Madison schools. She is pleased to have the opportunity to give back to the school and community where they have lived and raised their family.

Jacob Dawson

Jacob D. Dawson is a member of the Madison Central School Education Foundation Board, having joined the Board in 2018. Jacob is a partner at Lammers, Kleibacker & Dawson, LLP located in downtown Madison, where he has a general practice serving the community needs of Madison and the surrounding area. Jacob enjoys serving on the Madison Central School Education Foundation Board to help facilitate educational programing, secure funding for post-secondary education and vocational technical education for Madison Central students, as well as provide supplemental resources for educators in the district.

Jacob grew up in nearby Howard, South Dakota, and has been around the extended Madison community for quite some time. He attended Mt. Marty University for two years before transferring to the University Of South Dakota to complete his Bachelor of Science in biology and chemistry. After graduation from undergraduate course work, Jacob attended the University Of South Dakota School Of Law and graduated in May of 2017. He later joined the South Dakota Bar in October of 2017 and came to the Madison area to begin his law practice shortly thereafter.

Jacob and his wife, Rachel Dawson, have resided in Madison for a number of years. Rachel is a second grade elementary classroom teacher in the Madison School District. The couple enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, and water sports. They also have two dogs in the home.

Lori Norby

Theresa Schaefer

Theresa Schaefer is a native of Madison SD and graduated from MHS with the class of 1983. She received her degree in Applications Programming from Dakota State University, and together with her husband Randy, has three children and eight grandchildren. Having over 20 years of Human Resources experience, Theresa works as Director of Human Resources at Heartland Energy. In her spare time, she enjoys tennis, golf, fishing, kayaking, cooking, and spending time with her family. With three generations including herself having attended Madison schools, Schaefer has witnessed the benefits and opportunities that Madison schools offer. She is excited and proud to serve on the MCSEF Board hoping to provide enrichment to the school programs through the Foundation and give back to the community that has given her so much.

Carrie Studer

Carrie is a Brainerd, MN native who graduated from South Dakota State University with degrees in Psychology and Spanish. Her husband, Chris, works at East River Electric Cooperative, which is what brought their family to Madison in 2014. They have six children in the Madison Central School District. Carrie works as a Library Assistant for the MCSD in both the elementary and middle school/high school libraries. She also serves on the City of Madison's Public Library board, the Friends of MPL board, the Lake County Food Pantry board, and the Backstage Backers (MHS Drama Dept.) board. She joined the MCSEF board in 2017 because she believes strongly in the value of community involvement in public education. She is grateful for the opportunity to serve on the MCSEF board and promote the mission of enhancing and supporting Madison's great students, teachers, and staff.

Jordan Schuh

I work at Dakota State University in the Counseling Center as the Disability and Testing Services Coordinator. I have called Madison my home since I came to DSU as a student in 2007. I have always had a passion for education and when I was asked to serve on the foundation board knew that this would be a great opportunity to help our local students.

Help us provide better education opportunities!

The Madison Central School Educational Foundation has a secure website for making donations. Click Donate and you will be directed to PaySchools, where you can make a donation of any amount.

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