After two years of full and partial suspension of its grants program, the Demopolis City Schools Foundation is returning to fully funding its primary mission.

Teachers may apply a part of $50,000 being awarded in grants this fall to education professionals in the Demopolis City Schools system.

Deadline for the application is 3 p.m. Thursday, August 25. Teachers will be notified whether they have been fully, partially or not funded at the end of September when the Prize Patrol visits each campus to announce the recipients.

Applications and guidelines are available in each school office or at the Foundation web site, www.demopolis.org. Applicants may also contact the Foundation office at 289-2226.

In 2009 the State Department of Education, in an effort to meet proration, eliminated all money given to teachers for classroom supplies and enhancements. The DCSF stepped in to fill the gap by suspending its grants program and giving each Demopolis educators $292.40.

Last year the state again eliminated teacher-fee funding. In an effort to return to its grants program, the Foundation split its budget. Half went to grants and half to teacher-fee money. This year the state has budgeted just over $134 for each teacher for classroom needs. Because of that, the Foundation board decided to return using the budgeted funds entirely for grants. With the funding this fall, the Foundation will have awarded more than $856,000 since 1993 to pay for projects, programs and equipment the school system cannot pay for.

Money to pay for the grants comes from fund-raisers, interest on investments and hundreds of Foundation members.