Financial Crisis? The Wells Bottom Line
TAX RECORDS for the YEAR WELLS WENT COED
In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004, Wells College showed a surplus of income over expenses in the amount of $3,357,567.
In this year, the one in which "financial necessity" forced the college to go coed, the school's IRS 990 form also showed net assets starting the year at 97,532,563 and ending the year at 104,902,705.
HISTORY of the ENDOWMENT
According to Wells College: A History (1995), the endowment had dwindled to "almost nothing" in 1975, but by 1980 it was $7M, and in 1987 it stood at $21M. According to IRS filings, the endowment had grown to $48M in 1998 and stood at $54M in 2003. The endowment is not evaporating, despite years of deficit spending and variable markets.
However, a marked downturn in the endowment occurs AFTER the move to coeducation. The Syracuse newspaper reports on 3/26/06 that as of June 2005, the end of a fiscal year that saw endowments rise in 12 out of 14 area colleges, the Wells College endowment at dropped about a million. For example, Cortland State went up from $8.5 to 10.5 million, LeMoyne up from $34.5 to 37.2 million, Hobart up from $130 to 140 million, but Wells College dropped from $54.5 million down to $53.6. Does this drop include the Stratton bequest (see below)?
FISCAL IRRESPONSIBILITY
Alumnae Donations plummet under Ryerson, even before the co-ed decision.
Wells Lost a $14 Million endowed trust by going co-ed.
MAJOR GIFT for WOMEN'S EDUCATION
ANN WILDER STRATTON ‘46 left Wells College one third of her $28 million estate when she passed away in July, 2004; see press coverage below.
The college did not notify the community or the public of her generous gift for many moths.
Perhaps it would have been too difficult for the administration and board to claim Wells had to go coed because of a "financial crisis" while raking in this enormous bequest.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
For the love of a good place, $9 million
Published on September 29, 2004
Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc.
Byline: DENNIS HOEY Staff Writer
Plenty of people mutter about taxes, or pay them only grudgingly.
Ann Wilder Stratton, however, paid them willingly. Voluntarily, even.
In fact, even after Stratton sold her summer home in South Bristol, she kept sending $1,000 "property tax" checks to the town.
"She continued to send us a check up until last year," said Kenneth Lincoln, a town selectman and local home builder. "All I can remember about her is this elderly woman who drove around town wearing this funny-looking hat."
Now, she has done far more.
Stratton, who died July 19 at the age of 80, left the town $9 million - a gift officials say is a testament to the affection and faith she had in this fishing port of 800 people. Her estate, which probably won't be settled for another year, leaves the money for the town to spend as it sees fit.
Stratton was a year-round resident of Shreveport, La., where she was known as a government watchdog. Her family had owned land in South Bristol since the early 1900s.
Selectmen said they will recommend that interest on the money be used to lower property taxes and to obtain shorefront land for use as a town park and boat launch.
Officials said they will not recommend using the principal to offset the municipal, school and county budget, which will total about $2.4 million this year.
"I think that (offsetting the budget) would be a bad mistake," Chester Rice, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said.
"Putting the money away and spending the interest will benefit generations of residents. It should keep taxes in check for a very long time."
In August, town administrative assistant Beverly Eugley received a phone call from an attorney in Shreveport who told her Stratton had bequeathed a third of her $28 million estate to the town of South Bristol.
At first, Rice and other town officials did not believe what they were being told. They all knew of Stratton and her family's ties to South Bristol, a picturesque community overlooking the Damariscotta River and Johns Bay.
Her family had owned land and an island here since 1904. And Stratton, known for wearing colorful wide-brimmed hats, developed friendships with a number of residents.
But no one had any clues that she would leave the town such a staggering amount of money.
"It gave me a funny feeling when I was told," Rice said. "At first I didn't believe it."
Stratton's estate will be divided equally among the town, the Community Foundation of Shreveport-Bossier and Wells College in New York.
An obituary in the Shreveport Times called Stratton, a former social worker, a government watchdog and champion of the people.
She was a graduate of Mt. Vernon Seminary in Washington, D.C., Wells College, and the School of Social Work at the University of Pennsylvania.
The mayor of Shreveport, a city in northwest Louisiana, declared July 13, 2004, as Ann Wilder Stratton Day in recognition of her community involvement.
Stratton never married.
"She was our watchdog for good government in Shreveport," said Paula Hickman, executive director of the Community Foundation. Hickman became close friends with Stratton despite an age difference of 27 years.
"She was an independent person who cared very much about her communities."
Though her parents, Wilder L. and Grave Reed Stratton, were wealthy, Hickman said Stratton worked most of her adult life as a social worker.
In 1977, Stratton gave Hodgdons Island to the Damariscotta River Association. She eventually sold the family's home on the S Road but continued her summer visits until the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Don Stanley's father worked on the Stratton estate. Stanley said Wilder Stratton accumulated his wealth through oil drilling ventures in Louisiana.
Stanley, who has served as town selectman for more than 22 years, would like to invest the gift and use the interest to lower property taxes. He would also like the town to buy shorefront land for a park and boat launch.
More than half of the town's taxpayers are seasonal residents, and shorefront land has become increasingly scarce. Stanley said local residents deserve access to the water.
"When I was a kid, the whole town was my playground. But with each new person who comes into our town, the quality of life diminishes. You start feeling like you are getting squeezed," he said.
Voters at the March town meeting will be asked to accept the gift.
"It's a gift to the people of South Bristol, but it's our intention to make sure it keeps on giving in perpetuity," Stanley said.
Woman leaves South Bristol $9 million in her will
SOUTH BRISTOL, Maine (AP) — A Louisiana woman who spent summers in South Bristol has left the town $9 million in her will.
Ann Wilder Stratton, who died July 19 at the age of 80, visited the family’s home on the S Road into the 1980s. Even after she sold the family property and gave the family owned Hodgdons Island to the Damariscotta River Association, she continued sending $1,000 "property tax" checks to the town.
During her time in town, Stratton developed an affection for the people of this fishing port of 800. Still, townspeople were flabbergasted upon learning that she had bequeathed a third of her $28 million estate to the community.
Beverly Eugley got the call in August from an attorney in Shreveport, La., who told her about Stratton’s gift. At first, Rice and others didn’t believe it.
They all knew of Stratton and her family, which first bought property here in 1904. Over the years, Stratton — who was known for wearing colorful, wide-brimmed hats — developed friendships with a number of local residents.
But no one had a clues she would leave the town such a staggering amount.
"It gave me a funny feeling when I was told," Rice said. "At first I didn’t believe it."
Stratton’s estate, which probably won’t be settled for at least another year, will be divided equally among South Bristol, the Community Foundation of Shreveport-Bossier, and Wells College in New York.
Selectmen said they will recommend that interest on the money be used to lower property taxes and to obtain shorefront land for a town park and boat launch.
Officials said they will not recommend using the principal to offset the municipal, school and county budget, which will be about $2.4 million this year.
"I think that (offsetting the budget) would be a bad mistake," said Chester Rice, chairman of the Board of Selectmen. "Putting the money away and spending the interest will benefit generations of residents. It should keep taxes in check for a very long time."
Voters at the Town Meeting in March will be asked to accept the $9 million gift. Once the money is accepted, selectmen will recommend that it be invested.
"It’s a gift to the people of South Bristol, but it’s our intention to make sure it keeps on giving in perpetuity," said Selectman Don Stanley.
Stratton was a year-round resident of Shreveport, where she was known as an avid government watchdog.
An obituary in the Shreveport Times called Stratton, a former social worker, a champion of the people. The mayor of Shreveport declared July 13, just six days before her death, as Ann Wilder Stratton Day in recognition of her community involvement.
