BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Public schools are always clamoring for more money: Extra cash for teacher training, student trips and classroom computers. In the era of school reform, that clamoring is getting louder. Whether the additional funds are donated, raised by students or solicited by school foundations, the cash cow is now becoming a significant and necessary part of local education budgets.
Fund raising has grown beyond the bake sale.
According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, only 15 school foundations existed in 1982. Now there are more than 3,000 nationwide.
The Covington school district is creating a foundation this year to reap the benefits it sees other schools receiving.
"The foundation allows greater participation by the community and the business community in activities of the school district," Superintendent James Kemp said. "There are no limitations. What a foundation does is allow its board of directors to spend money on things a school board can't spend money on."
Many educators applaud these efforts to solicit money for public schools, pointing out that it helps broaden students' education. But others say such fund raising widens the gap between rich and poor schools.
"There is some truth to the fact that richer school districts have more opportunities to raise money for themselves, but it has to do with economics in society," said Howie Schaffer, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Public Education Network, an umbrella group for community organizations that raise money for schools. "If people are not working three jobs, they have time to be active," he said.
In Kentucky, the push for private funding groups at public schools started in 1989. In Council for Better Education vs. Rose, the state Supreme Court ruled Kentucky's K-12 education system was unconstitutional in curriculum, governance and finance. The result was the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA).
KERA provisions included a guaranteed base of per-pupil funding, higher funding increases to poor districts and a 1-cent sales tax increase. By 1995, per-pupil spending rose by 31 percent statewide. To right the funding gap, Kentucky capped the amount of aid wealthy districts could receive. But disparities still exist because of property value growth in the wealthier districts and the low minimum tax rate set by the 1990 law.
For some of the wealthier schools in Northern Kentucky, KERA brought a cap on programs. That prompted schools to find additional money in other ways.
Some created foundations supported primarily by parents and alumni. Others solicit corporate support. Many send students to the streets to hawk candy or organize car washes. There are golf outings, dinners with the governor, 5K runs and gala events to bring in cash for children.
The Beechwood School Foundation has $160,000 in endowments raised through private support. That foundation money, which goes beyond the district's $5 million operating budget, is used for school projects, computer and science lab equipment, educational trips and academic teams.
"We try not to compete with the booster organizations," President Jim Alford said. "We work by soliciting contributions where the donor gets nothing in return except the satisfaction of knowing they are helping the Beechwood schools."
The Boone County School Foundation was formed to raise money for computers. Deborah Joe Schafstall, a parent of two Boone County students, said she volunteers with the foundation because of the obvious need.
"The schools don't even have enough money to operate," she said. "I just don't think you can do too much for your kids. And to me, education is the most important thing you can give them."
The private-funds movement started in California, where state Supreme Court rulings led to a redirection of property tax revenue and creation of Proposition 13 in 1978.
To compensate for the missing money, California school boards and parents turned to foundations. The idea spread quickly to other cash-strapped districts nationwide.
"Foundations do some nice things. They buy a microscope or a computer lab," said the Public Education Network's Mr. Schaffer. "That looks nice, and the corporations that donated feel happy, but it never really fundamentally changes teaching and ways of learning."
Educational Foundation Consultants, based in Michigan, estimates that nearly 18 percent of U.S. schools benefit by funds raised by foundations. Those foundations raise small amounts, generally less than 0.5 percent of a school's budget. But the money can significantly improve programs. And schools use the money for all sorts of things. In Washington, D.C., administrators allow parents to raise money for kindergarten aides and science teachers.
Education foundations in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Mobile, Ala., refrain from giving money for equipment, focusing instead on ways to improve teaching and student achievement.
Two well-known education funds in Kentucky have spent years raising money to support education reform and professional development for teachers.
The Pritchard Committee for Academic Excellence in Lexington lobbies the state legislature and teaches parents how to become more involved in their schools.
Forward in the Fifth serves schools in 39 southeastern Kentucky counties. It was formed in 1986 to address the fact that Kentucky's 5th Congressional District had the highest percentage of adults in the nation without a high school education.
"We use our money to make sure that schools are changing in ways to meet the needs of children," Director Ginny Eager said. "Sometimes that means giving a school money to buy computers. But we try to get in programs that support the education reform law."
What private support can accomplish in public schools is easy to see.
In Boone County schools, the foundation raised $80,000 to buy more than 100 computers. Kenton County students have received more than $28,300 in scholarships from that district's foundation. Mr. Alford, the Beechwood foundation president, said those who work with school foundations must remember they serve the schools.
"Foundations need to be very careful that they do not set priorities for the institutions for whom they operate," Mr. Alford said. "And that takes a lot of dialogue and a very clear understanding on the part of the board members, that we exist to support the school." Being forced to seek outside funding sources can be good for public schools, said Kenton County Superintendent Neil Stiegelmeyer. "We haven't gotten to the point where we depend on it, but it's becoming more important," Mr. Stiegelmeyer said. "That's good, though. Not the begging posture, but the fact that we've become more creative."
Using private money to support public education can create some accountability problems. School administrators might be tempted to use the money for pet projects. And private campaigns aren't subject to the same auditing requirements public funds face.
But the American Association of School Administrators says these concerns may lessen as more elementary and secondary schools hire development directors.
"Schools are recognizing that school reform takes hold when the community is involved," Mr. Schaffer said. "It's gone way beyond the bake sale."
