School Funding
Students at Corona del Mar High School will have money this year to hire math tutors, and Davis Intermediate School in Costa Mesa will get a computer to use in its science and math classrooms.
The funds for these academic gifts did not come from taxpayers via the state budget. The money came from people in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District who contributed to the Newport Mesa Schools Foundation, formed three years ago to help make up for the loss of state school funds that were cut after the passage of Proposition 13.
The projects were part of the 34 to be funded by grants recently awarded by the foundation to programs in nine district schools. The goal is to raise privately the money needed for educational programs that tax dollars fall short of providing.
The mere existence of the public school foundations says much about the level of state support for schools. It’s unfortunate that such foundations have to exist. But for the students’ sake, it’s fortunate that they are there.
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