We’re living in lean times. The 2008 recession has devastated state funding for public schools. As a result, public school districts around the state are experiencing a dramatic and apparently permanent downward shift in funding. Schools administrators around the state are making hard decisions about program cuts.
For the 2011-12 school year, our district estimates a gap of $850,000 between what is provided by the state and what it needs to maintain existing programs.
To bridge this gap, community members and parents have formed the Vashon Island Public Schools Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to provide ongoing, long-term operating support to our public schools. Last year, we raised $430,000 to maintain current programming in the Vashon public schools.
This year our goal is to raise $550,000 by June 11, graduation day. We already have pledges of $130,000. With your help, we can do this!
Schools foundations are the “new normal” in public education funding. Mercer Island, Bainbridge Island and San Juan Island all have them. They all fund operating expenses.
Your gift will save critical programs of the following types: college-prep classes, including science electives, Spanish 4, as well as other electives at the high school; art, theater, music, library, counseling and athletic programs at all the schools. Funding will also help us keep our class sizes reasonable.
What is the difference between the foundation and PTSA or Partners in Education (PIE)? While the foundation seeks funding for basic operating expenses, including teaching positions, PTSA provides critical financial support for curriculum renewal. PIE makes small enrichment grants to support innovation in the classroom. The mission for all these organizations is the same, however: maintenance of quality programs in the Vashon public schools.
When you consider what you might give, think about this: If someone in the community (a parent, grandparent or friend) gave $1 per day per student for the length of the school year (180 days), we would be more than half way to our goal. A donation of $180 ($15/month) for each Vashon student yields $270,000!
To be sure, some of us have and will need to give much more than $180. Larger donations are necessary if we are to reach our goal of $550,000. We also recognize that in the midst of this recession some cannot make gifts; those of us who can will need to make up the difference.
Finally, please remember that the foundation is not set up as a grant-making organization. We make no program decisions for the district. Funding and program decisions are the province of the school district’s superintendent and your elected school board.
On June 11, Vashon will see the next class of VHS graduates go out into the world. Some will go straight to work, some will pursue music or the arts, and yet others will matriculate at two- and four-year colleges, including some of the country’s finest.
All will be the product of a little school district that can and does provide a solid K-12 education. Will it last? With your help, it will.
— Erin Sheridan, a former Vashon School Board member and the mother of three, including a graduating Vashon High School senior, is president of the Vashon Schools Foundation.
The Vashon Schools Foundation campaign starts today. Comm-unity members can pledge a tax-deductible gift at www.vashonschoolsfoundation.org or mail a gift to P.O. Box 481, Vashon WA 98070. School district families should expect a call from foundation volunteers on May 22 or 23, asking for a gift. The foundation is seeking both single and multi-year pledges or gifts made on a monthly basis.
