Local schools relying more on foundations - Marin IJ - February 07, 2005 - By Jennifer Gollan, IJ Reporter

Article Last Updated: Monday, February 07, 2005 - 4:46:34 AM PST

Local schools relying more on foundations


By Jennifer Gollan, IJ reporter


State cuts changing role of Marin groups
Spurred by an austere state budget, education foundations are taking on an increasingly pronounced role to cope with expected long-term cutbacks as the state mends an $8.6 billion budget hole.

Local fund-raising and parcel taxes, "will be our only strategy of maintaining well-rounded programs," Marin County Schools Superintendent Mary Jane Burke said

Susan Sweeney, executive director of the California Consortium of Education Foundations, which represents 500 education foundations statewide, agreed.

"I can't think of a time that the need is greater than now," she said. "There has been a lot of (state) cuts and there are more cuts coming."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed 2005-06 budget includes an additional $2.9 billion for education, but since the 2001-02 school year, state education spending has consistently lagged behind the inflation rate, said Robert Manwaring, director of the K-12 education division at the state Legislative Analyst's Office. Next year alone the state would need to kick in an additional $1.9 billion for per-pupil spending to keep pace with the inflation rate, Manwaring said.

Leading in the local fund-raising arena are the foundations that support the Reed, Mill Valley and Kentfield school districts. They are on track to receive about $1 million or more each in donations, matching last year's collections. Other fund-raising organizations earned considerably less. They included the San Ran Rafael Public Education Foundation, which has collected $150,000 since July 2002 (the foundation did not have figures available for 2003-04); and School Fuel, The Novato Foundation for Public Education, which collected $183,575 in 2003-04. The Sausalito Schools Foundation, dormant for at least a year after losing its parent leaders to a separate foundation devoted to the district's charter school, has $2,578.

The fund-raising power of Marin's education foundations largely depends on the sophistication of each organization and the income level in each community. Statewide, foundations play a relatively small role in supplementing school funding, Manwaring said. But large or small, the prevalence of foundations in Marin, he noted, is rooted in local parents' "much higher expectation of what the education system would provide because they have more income versus some poorer areas.

"They expect their kids to go to college and be competitive in the world and education is a big part of that."

To that end, several education foundations are padding school coffers through endowments. For example, the Kiddo! Mill Valley Schools Community Foundation, has grown its endowment to $2.6 million since its inception in 1988. This year, the foundation allocated $100,000 from its endowment to pay for drama and arts programs and technology support at Mill Valley public schools, said Trisha Garlock, the foundation's executive director.

Another example is the Kentfield Schools Foundation, which has held off on tapping into its $300,000 endowment, created in 2002, to allow it to grow, Karen Dibblee, the foundation's executive director, said. In addition, School Fuel, The Novato Foundation for Public Education this year allocated $5,500 to start an endowment for Novato's public schools, said Joyce McCarron, a member of the foundation's board of trustees.

Foundations vs. taxes

Some local school officials say foundations proliferated after Proposition 13 in 1978 limited property taxes to no more than 1 percent of the assessed value of each property. The legislation caused a shift in school funding from mostly property taxes to primarily state taxes.

Michael Kirst, a professor of education at Stanford University who specializes in school finance reform and state education policy, said foundations seem to be here to stay.

"The trend is for even more giving to these foundations, because it is pretty clear that there is no state plan to give to school districts the things that they want unless we have tax reform," he said.

Sweeney, of the California Consortium of Education Foundations, said although many school foundations were initially created as "band-aids" in the 1980s to cope with funding cuts, funding slumps in the meantime have "established they will be there for the long haul."

That rankles some leaders of taxpayer groups such as Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, which has offices in Los Angeles and Sacramento and 200,000 members statewide.

"I think the courts are going to take an interst in this if this trend continues," Vosburgh said.

Referring to a low-income school district in the Los Angeles area, he added, "It means that a student in Carson will not be able to compete with those in a wealthier community where the residents can afford to set up a foundation."

Local foundations

Foundations vary in the types of programs or services they support at Marin's public schools, but for the large part they support enrichment programs including art, music, physical education and other courses. Because these programs are not required by the state, they often have been more vulnerable to the chopping block.

Here's a sampling of Marin's education foundations and the types of programs they support:

- Reed

Last year, the Reed Schools Foundation raised $990,000, of which about $725,000 was donated by parents, said Laura Cox, president of the Reed Schools Foundation. The remaining portion was collected from the community through the foundation's annual party and advertising sales in its school directory. The foundation asks parents to give what they can afford. The foundation is halfway to meeting its goal of raising $1 million by the end of June. A part-time administrative assistant is employed by the foundation, although Cox declined to disclose her salary.

Funds generated by the foundation support the district's music and art programs, as well as a physical education program for grades K-5. In addition, the foundation supplements Spanish language programs at the middle school, as well as teacher training and a technology expert who visits the district's three campuses.

- Mill Valley

Together with $300,000 in endowment funds, Mill Valley's foundation expects to raise $1.5 million this year, putting it just ahead of the $1.4 million it collected last year, said Garlock, the director of Mill Valley's foundation.

Through its annual campaign, the foundation asks parents to donate $600 per child each year. About 75 percent of parents contribute to the foundation, with the remaining portion from businesses. The district holds a fund-raising auction in alternate years. Garlock said the foundation hopes to net $200,000 at this year's auction March 26. Garlock was paid $41,688 last year to work 30 hours per week at the foundation.

The foundation supports the district's art and music programs by underwriting the salaries of six music teachers and 11 art teachers. The foundation also supports drama, poetry and dance programs and three technology specialists. Also, about $10,000 has been awarded to teachers for class projects that examine topics ranging from cooking to science.

"There are lots of studies that show that what you learn in art programs are real life skills that you carry throughout your life," Garlock said. "There are also studies that show that kids who learn art do better on SATs. It lays the groundwork for children to be excited for school."

- Kentfield

The Kentfield Schools Foundation has raised about $900,000 this year, not far from its goal of $1.1 million, said Dibblee, the foundation's director. The foundation raised $1.3 million last year. The foundation turns its collections over to the Kentfield school board, which decides where to spend it.

About half of the foundation's money comes from parents, who are asked through mailings to contribute $825 per child each year. The organization's fund-raising auction, held in alternate years, is March 19. The rest of the collections are from businesses that pay for ads in school directories, or donate. The foundation supports art, music, library and computer programs and salaries for teacher aides. In addition, the foundation supports Spanish classes for grades 5-8, as well as physical education teachers.

- San Rafael

The San Rafael Public Education Foundation has used its $150,000 in donations collected since July 2002 to cover the cost of a part-time counselor to visit the six elementary schools, and a visiting counseling service for the two high schools in the district.

The foundation also has supplemented music programs for all grades, said Patty Garbarino, chair of the San Rafael Public Education Foundation. Garbarino said the foundation's leaders work on a volunteer basis and most of the foundation's donations come from various community fund-raising events, but she said details were not available on which entities - parents, businesses or otherwise - donated to the organization. The foundation's fund-raising goal this year is $100,000.

- Novato

In its inaugural year in 2003-04, Novato's schools foundation collected $183,575 in donations, which primarily supported a music and a physical education teacher for the elementary schools, reduced the size of middle school math classes and bolstered high school elective programs, said McCarron, of Novato's foundation.

Foundation leaders volunteer their time and a part-time bookkeeper earns about $200 per month, which is paid with foundation funds. The foundation has collected $48,000 since the start of its campaign Sept. 1. Its goal is to raise $1 million this year.

"What is important is that it helps with enrichment programs," McCarron said. "It helps kids think outside the box. The basics have to be there obviously, but there needs to be something there to help with the enrichment side of it so kids are excited about coming to school."

- Ross

Susanne Lyons, president of the Ross Schools Foundation, declined to talk in detail about the foundation's fund raising, citing the privacy of district parents. She said the foundation supports teachers, library programs, class aides and a technologist to run the computer programs.

- Sausalito Marin City

The Sausalito Schools Foundation has about $2,600 in its account, but the group has been inactive for at least a year, officials say. The foundation lost steam when parent leaders took up the cause of their children who moved to Willow Creek Academy, a K-7 charter school that opened in 2001.

Sharon Doyle, director of development at Willow Creek Foundation, projects the organization will raise about $70,000 this year for the charter school. Most of its donations come from the community through special events such as a booth at the Sausalito Arts Festival. The money will help support the school's music and art programs and cover the cost of teacher aides, as well as field trips.

George Stratigos, president of the Sausalito Marin City Board of Trustees, said he plans to reinvigorate the Sausalito foundation by proposing a measure to unify the district's defunct foundation with that of Willow Creek to benefit all schools in the district.

Contact Jennifer Gollan via e-mail at jgollan@marinij.com

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