On March 3rd, the Exeter Township School District made an unexpected announcement to the

community regarding the Township's participation in the APT's annual May Days fundraiser. Both prior
to their announcement, and in the days after its publication, attempts by Township representatives to
engage in a dialogue with the School District proved unsuccessful. Although this is a school related
event, their brief statement has prompted requests for more information on how the Township came to
its decision.

May Days was a multi-day fundraiser that took place on Exeter School District grounds. The event
served the APT and the School District – the activities, entertainment, and vendors were directed
toward students. Exeter Township was asked to take a more active role in 2006, to help supplement
and support this School District event. The Township did so with the understanding that doing so would
not result in a loss of taxpayer dollars.

The costs to the Township mounted steadily over the years and were increasingly disproportionate to
the costs of other participating organizations. Exeter Township taxpayer dollars have funded the annual
administration and planning, set up and dismantling, police supervision, street sweeping and cleaning,
scheduling of emergency response teams for the event, and financial accounting.

At the close of the fundraiser, the money that was raised was split seven ways. The six APT
organizations each received an equal portion of those sales. In 2017, the APT organizations jointly
received $14,886.00, or $2,481.00 each. Exeter Township received the last $2,481.00. The Township
also received $3,044.00 in revenues from vendors and sponsorships, which included an additional
stipend from event sales. An analysis of the previously unreconciled actual costs proves a repeated
significant financial loss of tax dollars - over $30,000 in 2017 alone.

May Days was at its core was a fundraiser and as such the burden should have been shared by all
interested parties. One example of the Township’s attempts to address these issues was in reaching out
to the School District to request the use of an electrician for the event. The Districts response was to
advise the Township they would provide the service but would bill the Township $6,700.00, or more.

Despite the School Districts unwillingness to support their own APT in this event, the Township remains
willing to engage in a dialogue about a responsible partnership between the Township and the School
District. Exeter Township is eager to offer wonderful community events that cater to wider audiences,
and to explore how connections with local governing bodies and organizations will achieve this goal.

This decision was not made lightly. We must be good stewards of resources, and sometimes, difficult
decisions must be made. We are encouraged by the residents who have asked for more information,
because they want to work together to make the Township the best it can be. We are particularly
encouraged to learn that students are taking an active role in this discussion, because there is no better
way to build community. We look forward to announcing exciting plans for 2018 and beyond, and we
pledge to continue to work to serve you. We hope the School District will do the same.