RockToberfest Fundraiser to Benefit Marco Charter Middle School

Get ready to put on your lederhosen and dirndl and oompah and dance the night away for a very worthy cause! RockToberfest Fundraiser to Benefit Marco Charter Middle School, a fundraising event scheduled for the Marco Island Charter Middle School (MICMS), is slated for Friday, September 27, 2024. The fundraiser will help offset expenses related to the purchase of three new school buses. The event will be held at the Marco Island Hilton Beach Resort from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM. This worthy cause is offering all levels of sponsorship for businesses and organizations. The Jack Shealy Band will provide music. 

Back in February 2024, MICMS received notice from Collier County Public Schools that they would no longer be providing buses for the school for the next school year, said MICMS board member Cherise Loy. 

“In May 2024, we contracted with a company that agreed to provide bus service,” Loy said. “However, we learned the night before school began that the company was not able to start the routes as they did not obtain sufficient insurance. Once it was clear they were not going to perform, multiple attempts to find other transportation services were made. Unfortunately, we received the same reply - that MICMS was too far away for the companies to provide school bus service.” 

“With no school bus alternatives available anywhere, purchasing buses and obtaining our own drivers became our best and only option,” said Loy. “Buying three buses gives us the chance to have a backup, to grow and accommodate more students, and to possibly service other facilities and events. Thereafter we can give our students the safe, reliable transportation they truly need.” 

 “The current need for school buses was caused when the School District of Collier County decided to no longer provide transportation service for the two charter schools on Marco Island beginning with this school year,” said Principal Margo Heidenreich. “We sought out quotes for contracting bus transportation service, which was difficult since we are too far out down here on Marco Island, and companies were not willing to provide service.This left us once again seeking options for safely transporting our students. Without any school bus companies willing to help, and after reaching back out to Collier County for reconsideration, we determined we had no other choice but to take on the responsibility of providing our own transportation.” 

“I am thrilled that we are able to move forward by purchasing three new school buses!” Heidenreich said. “We will now have the flexibility to enhance our educational experience through field trips and, if needed, transportation to away games for our student-athletes.” 

“We have 94 students who ride the bus,” Heidenreich added.“And as the communities off the island grow, like along Collier and 41, we want to help reach those families, and having our own buses will do that. But this additional expense comes as the MICMS is already expanding our program through the opening of the new STEAM Lab, and our new After School Program.” 

“We are currently hiring bus drivers and looking for anyone in the community who is interested in a part-time job driving a school bus,” Heidenreich said. 

Visit www.MICMS.org if you are interested in driving a school bus, want to be a RockToberfest sponsor or purchase event tickets.