Citizens Take Charge, Raise Funds to Help Ailing Schools : Education: Efforts to aid Montebello Unified District are an example of a growing trend. More and more private individuals are getting involved in fund-raising drives.

When Montebello families pay $5 per ticket to see the musical “Soy La Revolucion” this month, they will be getting more than an evening of tales about Mexican revolutionary folk heroes. They will be outfitting the prep football team, printing the school newspaper and striking up the high school band.

The performances are part of a $300,000 fund-raising campaign launched by parents, business leaders and politicians to save extracurricular, after-school programs in the Montebello Unified School District. Community leaders organized the campaign after these activities showed up on a list of $9 million in cuts to next year’s budget.

Although Montebello’s financial problems are worse than most, the leaders of money-short public schools across the state are asking more and more for help from their communities. In many cases the appeals are being answered through private, nonprofit foundations created to aid the schools.

A nonprofit group forming to aid Montebello schools is similar to more than 190 other foundations in California. More than 20 started this year in Southern California, according to the California Educational Foundation Consortium, a nonprofit organization that coordinates the efforts of various fund-raising groups.

The most successful foundations are in prosperous areas and have been around for several years. A foundation to help Beverly Hills schools raised $718,000 last year, or $156 per student. A foundation serving La Canada Unified earned $550,000, or $153 per student. By comparison, this year’s lottery revenue is expected to be about $80 per student, according to the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

In Southeast Los Angeles County, the Long Beach Education Fund pulled in $281,000 and the South Whittier Community Education Foundation collected $10,000 for the South Whittier School District.

Most foundations raise money to supplement or enrich school programs. But increasingly, they are being called on to raise money for essentials, such as computer equipment, books and other supplies. Schools are also leaning financially on their PTAs.

“PTAs are being very pressed also by the schools, not only to just do field trips and things, but asked to do all kinds of things we never used to,” said JacqueWhited, treasurer for the California State Parent-Teacher Assn.

Whited said that a school PTA would typically raise $5,000 a year to cover operating costs, but now some groups raise as much as $100,000 for big-ticket items, such as school computers, photocopy machines and school-grounds equipment.

The money pinch has resulted from many factors. Lottery revenues have plummeted, for example, and government funding of schools has not kept pace with inflation for three years.

“It’s sad,” Whited said. “These were all things that your taxes took care of.”

The need for financial help is particularly acute in Montebello. In March, the district cut its budget by 8%, to about $101 million, to stave off bankruptcy. The cuts eliminated a host of jobs, services and programs. Extracurricular activities, such as journalism, debate, band practice and athletics remain on the cut list, but the district delayed dismantling the programs after parents and community leaders pledged to raise $300,000 by June, 1993.

Supt. Darline P. Robles said such a generous community response is a first for the district. “It’s one of the best things to come out of this crisis,” Robles said. Unlike Beverly Hills, Montebello serves a largely middle-class community, which has been hit hard by the recession.

During the past two weeks, fund-raising organizers, mostly parents, have discussed the possibility of “walk-a-thons”, talent showcases, golf tournaments, musical concerts, dances and food fairs. Meanwhile, a separate group of civic leaders and business people has been organizing the nonprofit foundation.

“We feel it’s about time that business became involved in education,” said Dick Demerjian, chair of the eight-member committee for the proposed foundation. “It’s a way for people in the district to exercise just a little bit more control over the quality of education their children get.”

Montebello money-raising efforts were supposed to have started Saturday with a concert by the rock group War, sponsored by the Montebello Downtown Assn., but officials canceled the concert after the rioting that followed the verdict in the Rodney G. King beating case.

The next fund-raising events are performances of “Soy La Revolucion,” a Spanish-language musical scheduled for May 17 at Bell Gardens High School and May 31 at Montebello High School. The Los Angeles-based performing troupe Culpable is donating its efforts. Tickets are $5 and organizers hope to raise $12,000 from the performances.

Educators said they worry that school systems will become too reliant on private funding and that wealthy areas will have an unfair fund-raising advantage over poorer districts.

Fair or not, Montebello’s Demerjian said his group is prepared to make a lasting commitment to helping local schools. “I don’t think foundations are a cure-all, but it’s something that other communities are going to have to look at and possibly do the same thing.”

The performances of “Soy La Revolucion” will be 6 p.m. May 17 at the Bell Gardens High auditorium and 1 p.m. May 31 at the Montebello High auditorium. Tickets are $5. Tickets and show information may be obtained in the offices of district schools.

Raising Money for Montebello Schools

Organization: Extended Day Activities Committee

Dollar target: To raise $300,000 by June, 1993

Goals: To save extracurricular, after-school activities including sports, debate, band practice, the school newspaper and the school yearbook

Enrollment: 33,000 in the Montebelo Unified School District

Areas served: Montebello, Bell Gardens, Commerce and parts of East Los Angeles, Downey, Monterey Park, Pico Rivera, Rosemead and South San Gabriel

Source: Montebello Unified School District

Community Fund-Raising Efforts for Public Schools

School 1991 Dollars Foundation Fund Raising per Student Los Angeles County leaders Beverly Hills Education Foundation $718,000 $156 Palos Verdes Education Foundation $674,000 $75 La Canada Flintridge Education Foundation $550,000 $153 Southeast area fund-raising Long Beach Education Fund $281,000 $4 South Whittier Community Education Foundation $10,000 $3 Whitney High School Foundation for Educational Excellence (Cerritos) $10,000 $10

Source: California Educational Foundation Consortium and individual schools and districts