The Park City Education Foundation is suing the cofounder of one of its scholarship programs, claiming he breached a legal agreement that prevents him from publicly criticizing the organization.

The nonprofit filed the lawsuit in Summit County’s Third District Court on Tuesday. The complaint alleged Thomas Tanzer, who cofounded the Bright Futures program in 2016, violated a settlement agreement restricting him from making negative comments about the organization after a falling-out between the two parties.

Bright Futures was created to help low-income, first-generation Park City High School students prepare for and graduate from college with a four-year degree. The Park City Education Foundation in May announced plans to modify the program to assist all first-generation students.

The complaint does not indicate what caused the nonprofit and Tanzer to reach a settlement agreement over the summer. However, court documents filed earlier this year show Tanzer was charged with two misdemeanors — disorderly conduct and damaging or interrupting a communication device — in January. The charges were dismissed in September, but one filing mentioned that contact with the Park City Education Foundation played a key role in the case.

Park City Education Foundation CEO and President Ingrid Whitley in May later filed a petition with the courts accusing Tanzer of stalking. The filings came two days after coverage in The Park Record and KPCW regarding the changes to the Bright Futures program, which included comments from Tanzer about the “detrimental impact” of the proposal.

The stalking case was dismissed on Aug. 14, the same day the Park City Education Foundation and Tanzer entered the settlement agreement, according to court filings.

But the lawsuit earlier this week claimed Tanzer violated the terms of the settlement agreement because he mentioned the foundation and the Bright Futures program in a TownLift article on Nov. 1 and in a letter to the editor in The Park Record on Nov. 15. In both publications, the suit claimed he alluded to his displeasure with the changes to the Bright Futures program, as well as concerns about financial management.

“These posts constitute not merely public comment, but public criticism and false characterization of the foundation and its Bright Futures program, which Tanzer expressly and unequivocally agreed to refrain from making,” the complaint said. “The foundation continues to fully honor its commitments to support existing Bright Futures students, while evolving the program to serve even more students. Any claims to the contrary are false and misleading.”

Court documents said the Park City Education Foundation “depends entirely on the trust and confidence” of donors and community members.

“Tanzer’s misleading public statements undermine the Foundation’s reputation and ability to secure the funding necessary to continue serving Park City students,” the complaint claimed. “The harm to the Foundation’s reputation and donor relationships is particularly severe given the public nature of Tanzer’s statements and his false characterization of the Foundation’s operations and commitment to its programs.”

The lawsuit concluded by accusing Tanzer of breaching a contract and asking Summit County Third District Judge Richard Mrazik to issue an order enforcing the terms of the settlement agreement. The complaint also requested Mrazik grant the nonprofit “compensatory damages in an amount to be proven at trial.”

Tanzer declined to comment on the case, as it involves ongoing litigation.

The post Park City Education Foundation sues Bright Futures cofounder over public remarks on program changes appeared first on Park Record.

As Bright Futures approaches its 10th anniversary, the Park City Education Foundation will implement a series of changes during the upcoming school year that it hopes will symbolize the program’s durability and flexibility.

Ingrid Whitley, the president and CEO of the Park City Education Foundation, recognized the success of the multi-year program that’s historically been exclusive to helping low-income, first-generation Park City High School students prepare for and graduate from college with a four-year degree.

But after a year-long strategic planning effort, she said the Park City Education Foundation’s Board of Directors and staff have decided to amend Bright Futures to embrace all first-generation students embarking on a post-secondary journey.

Key changes to the program include hiring a new Bright Futures counselor dedicated to first-generation high schoolers and expanding programming to be more supportive of students considering alternatives to traditional college, including a two-year degree or vocational certificate from a trade school. The change aligns with the school district’s student-centric approach as well as broader statewide efforts like Admit Utah, a new initiative that guarantees college admission to any high school graduate in the state with a grade point average of 2.0 or higher at participating public colleges.

Park City School District Superintendent Lyndsay Huntsman estimated there are around 85 students, or about 25 per class, currently participating in Bright Futures. Yet there will be about 260 first-generation students attending Park City High School next year. 

Both the Park City Education Foundation and the school district felt the program needed to evolve to be more inclusive. 

“Are you okay knowing we have 200 more kids who aren’t being serviced, just letting them be? Because I’m not,” Huntsman said. “It is our job to create a path forward for them and educate them, and provide them with resources, as well as their family, to continue to be successful. More importantly, we hope that they’re breaking this cycle of intergenerational poverty that some of them have experienced.”

Huntsman, who served as the career and technical education director before taking over as superintendent in January, reflected on a growing shift across the nation that focuses on redefining what post-secondary success means and the recognition of non-college career paths.

Starting next school year, all first-generation students in ninth through 12th grades will have access to the Bright Futures counselor, who will provide specialized support, as well as their traditional guidance counselor. 

The position will be funded by the Park City Education Foundation, but the employee will work for the school district so they can provide full-time, in-school, specialized support. Previously, the Bright Futures advisor worked for the Education Foundation and may not have always been accessible because of other responsibilities.

Whitley said it made sense to hand over parts of Bright Futures to the school district because it’s the only one of the Park City Education Foundation’s eight signature initiatives that it both runs and funds. The deepened partnership with the school district allows the core of the Bright Futures program to stay the same while giving educators and students more opportunities to collaborate throughout the school day.

The current iteration of the program is only open to underclassmen who commit to the program, who have a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or higher and whose parents or guardians did not graduate with a four-year college degree. 

However, the new eligibility requirements only require high schoolers to identify as first-generation college students. Students are also not accepted into the high school portion of the program — they automatically receive additional support, programmatic services and access to college visits. 

All Bright Futures students will still have access to college visits, post-secondary readiness programming, FAFSA support, scholarship guidance, emergency financial aid for unexpected challenges, one-on-one coaching once they enter the post-secondary field and peer mentorship. The Dream Big elective course for first-generation students, which is open to those not in the Bright Futures program, will also still exist.

“When we give kids access to more resources, more kids are going to succeed, period,” Whitley said.

While Park City Education Foundation and school district leaders stand behind the changes to Bright Futures, some founding members are concerned the decade-old program is being dismantled.

Co-founder and former Bright Futures Advisory Board member Eric Garner said he felt the Park City Education Foundation is touting an untested concept that will replace a successful program without any input from people with knowledge of the program.

The Park City Education Foundation hired Pathway Group, a consulting firm, to conduct its strategic plan. Board members have met several times since October to review survey results as well as conduct work groups to discuss the proposals.

“Based on decades of experience with helping thousands of first-gen students achieve a college degree, I have significant concerns that PCEF’s untested replacement program will negatively impact the graduation rate of Park City’s first-gen college students,” Garner said in a statement. 

Garner founded the Bright Prospect program in Pomona, California, more than 20 years ago, after which Bright Futures was modeled. He added that while the expanded concept may help more students achieve other goals, “that was not the intent of Bright Futures.” He said the new counselor will likely incur an unmanageable caseload and questioned if there would be a disconnect between support in high school and transitioning to college.

Tommy Tanzer, who also served on the Park City Education Foundation’s Bright Futures Advisory Committee and played a pivotal role in creating the Park City-based program, also raised issues with the changes. He was worried about whether there were enough staff and volunteer support from people knowledgeable about Bright Futures to keep it operating and said the proposed changes would have a “detrimental impact” on the program.

Garner and Tanzer also questioned whether donor dollars raised for Bright Futures would be used as intended. Both rescinded their monetary support — estimated to be at least six figures — from the program.

Whitley affirmed that, as a nonprofit, any restricted gifts contributed to the Park City Education Foundation for Bright Futures would be used to support the program expenses, whether that’s for a scholarship fund, personnel, programming or supplies. She recognized that the changes to Bright Futures may no longer align with a donor’s philanthropic priorities, saying most of the pushback she’s heard is that the program was meant to support only those who are college-bound. 

However, Whitley was hopeful that expanding the program would encourage more people to be excited about it. It also supports a mindset that every kid can succeed, not just those who are deemed “the best and brightest.” 

She said Bright Futures has been successful on a small scale — 25 college graduates, 66 current college students, and 85 high school participants with a 64% college graduation rate and 100% college acceptance rate — but Whitley thinks the program can do more.

“As we think about evolving the program, our core mission is not changing. We are still supporting first-gen kids, still supporting them in their post-secondary journeys. We’re still providing financial aid. We’re still providing coaching, we’re still providing programming, so the core tenets of the program are the exact same. We are expanding the reach, and we’re changing a bit of how it’s implemented at the high school in order to do that,” she said.

The Park City Education Foundation and the school district are still working through several specifics of how Bright Futures will be implemented next school year. The Bright Futures counselor was hired last week and is a school district employee with several years of experience. 

Bright Futures staff members with the Park City Education Foundation and the new counselor will meet soon to plan and discuss the future of the program, including communicating with those who are already involved in Bright Futures and introducing themselves to incoming freshmen and sophomores at the upcoming May 29 student assembly.

The post Bright Futures ‘evolves’ to serve more first-generation students appeared first on Park Record.

Saturday evening, the Park City Education Foundation’s Bright Futures program hosted its third annual college grad celebration honoring 11 program alums and now-incoming Class of 2025 college graduates from schools across the state.

The Kamas City Events Center housed the festivities where families gathered, warmly greeting one another and some old friends reunited after being apart for school. 

Bright Futures is a comprehensive, multi-year program that supports Park City’s first-generation students from 10th grade through college graduation. Most students begin with the Park City High School Dream Big classes, which offer a year-round college-readiness curriculum.

Together, Dream Big and Bright Futures guide students through every step of the college journey: choosing the right school, applying, budgeting, securing scholarships, understanding financial aid, and more. The program offers individualized coaching, peer support and financial assistance.

As students progress, Bright Futures helps them navigate real-world challenges as a steady companion aiming to ensure long-term success in college.

First-generation students often face unique challenges on their educational journeys, such as financial barriers, family responsibilities and limited familiarity with the higher education system — all of which can jeopardize their path to a degree.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only 24% of first-generation students earn a bachelor’s degree within six years of starting college, compared to 59% of their continuing-generation peers.

Through its program, Bright Futures helps students navigate a clearer path to success.

Lindsay Carreto, Bright Futures High School program coordinator and program alum herself, said that seeing the behind-the-scenes work gave her a new appreciation for those who supported her as a student. Now, being on the staff side, she values building relationships with students, creating lasting memories and being there to support them through their journey.

Carreto works directly with students throughout their high school careers, offering mentorship, one-on-one guidance and more. She said it is rewarding is to see them start as sophomores, grow into juniors and eventually become seniors — witnessing their growth, maturity and the passion they carry throughout the journey.

“They all do it for their families, for themselves too. But the dedication that they have to their families is so inspiring.” Carreto said. “This is why I did it too. And it’s like, as a collective first-gen, that’s why you’re here, because your parents gave you this opportunity, and even though they’re teenagers, they all know that, and they love their parents and appreciate the sacrifices that they made.” 

As the evening program began celebrating this year’s all-women class of graduating students, the room quickly filled with emotion — a powerful mix of pride, joy and heartfelt reflection palpable even to newcomers. 

Dania Pantaleon, one of the honored students, addressed the room with a speech expressing gratitude to her family, teachers and friends.

“One stage ends and another begins. With this mindset, I feel honored to continue my education at Utah State University this fall pursuing my master’s in human resources,” She said. “An achievement I once thought was unachievable that brings me one step closer to fulfilling my dream, supporting my mother and inspiring other first generation students to persevere despite the odds stacked against us.”

Pantaleon thanked those who had stood by her side, noting that despite all the challenges she endured, she wouldn’t change anything about her journey. She emphasized her belief that “everything happens for a reason,” crediting this mindset with giving her the resilience and determination to overcome obstacles.

“I tend to see every challenge as an opportunity to grow,” she said. “Most importantly, I plan to cherish every moment with loved ones because life is unpredictable and we never know when we might lose those closest to us.” 

Students were called up one by one, each approaching the front of the room to cheerful applause from all those gathered to celebrate their achievements. Families joined their grads and took the opportunity to express their pride in their accomplishments, sharing embraces and words of encouragement.

“I especially want to thank (Bright Futures), which is helping each one of our children,” said Natividad Vasquez, Pantaleon’s mother. “C​ongratulations to all of them and congratulations to Dania. I’m very proud of her because she has worked hard and followed her dreams, and through it all, they’ve picked themselves up after every fall.” 

As some students prepare to pursue graduate degrees and others step into the workforce ready to make their mark, the event served as a meaningful milestone in their academic journeys — celebrating all they have accomplished so far.

To learn more about the Bright Futures program, visit pcef4kids.org/programs/bright-futures.html

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