Donors Are Helping Schools Cope in Era of Shrinking Budgets : Gifts: Contributions of supplies and money help public schools and colleges fill some of the gaps left by cuts in state funding.

It wasn’t even Christmas yet when Saddleback College received a $50,000 gift from an anonymous donor wanting to help students through the tough economic times.

The gift not only brought some relief to the college’s budget but brought a welcome morale boost to to the campus.

“It’s wonderful to get a gift like this because of the effect it’s going to have on students,” said Vern M. Hodge, vice president of student services. “Almost any gift we receive is wonderful. It’s someone showing they care about the institution.”

As public colleges and schools continue to cope with cuts in state funding, private donors have risen to the challenge, offering everything from computers, cakes and clarinets to encyclopedias, kilns, trees, lumber and even bar codes for library books. Fund raising by parent and teacher groups, athletic boosters, student councils, service clubs, corporations and individuals has brought more gifts to south Orange County schools than ever before.

In fact, some PTA and athletic booster groups have started paying the stipends and partial salaries of coaches and librarians, positions that would have otherwise become casualties of budget cuts.

“The gifts are important to the district, especially this year with our budget situation,” said Carleen Wing-Chandler, fiscal services manager for the Capistrano Unified School District. “We’ve had a lot of parents and other groups step forward to support such things as sixth-grade outdoor camps and athletic stipends for some of the sports. It’s very needed.”

This year alone, officials of the Capistrano Unified School District were able to pay the stipends of 45 high school and junior high coaches thanks to about $80,000 given by booster groups.

“San Clemente, of all places, would not have had a surf program had parents not gotten together to pay for the coach’s stipend,” said Kaye Thrasher, president of the San Clemente High School Triton Boosters Club. “We raise and give away between $20,000 to $40,000 each year, but the needs have just far outstripped that.”

During the past academic year, Capistrano schools received $240,000 in cash gifts, in addition to donated supplies. So far this school year, the district has already received more than $200,000, Wing-Chandler said.

In the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, cash and other gifts totaled $523,000 for 1992, up from $445,000 in 1991 and $398,000 in 1990.

“It’s just a huge amount, in money, things and people’s time,” Saddleback Valley Assistant Supt. Barry Blade said.

While gift-giving is always welcomed, it often comes as something of a mixed blessing, officials said.

“In some ways, it’s not as helpful to a school district because it’s not a dependable supply of the income,” Blade said. “The upside is, it creates a stronger sense of community. People feel they are a part of their school. The school and community become as one in the truest sense of a partnership.”

Indeed, while many parents have become more involved in the schools, some worry their success in raising funds may make it easier for the state to continue making cuts to education.

“The parents did need to get back involved in education,” said Thrasher, with San Clemente High School. “I think though that parents would very happily turn this fund-raising responsibility back to the state and let us get on with other organizations and things that need our help.”

Like many other schools in the area, teachers at O’Neill Elementary in Mission Viejo have been making wish lists for supplies, ranging from boxes of tissue to updated world maps.

“We have relied a lot on parents, not just the PTA, to contribute some supplies,” Principal Colleen Wilson said.

Lately, however, the wish lists have contained more than just basic school supplies. Last year, the O’Neill School Parent-Teacher Assn. started raising money to pay for half of the salary of the school librarian, which comes to about $5,700 per year. This year, the PTA is doing the same thing.

“Now it’s real substantial, it’s not the foo-foo stuff anymore,” said Beth Grove, president of the school’s PTA. “We’re trying to do whatever we can to keep the programs the same.”

One of the more successful PTA fund-raising groups in the Saddleback Valley is at Valencia Elementary, in an affluent section of Laguna Hills.

In just two months this summer, Valencia PTA donated about $36,000 worth of school supplies. The gifts included televisions, videocassette recorders, bookshelves, a copy machine, a Macintosh computer, walkie-talkies, gift certificates for teachers, a bookbinder and even a wagon for the kindergartners.

“PTAs are getting involved in things that 10 year ago they would never have considered,” Valencia Principal Don Snyder said. “In years past PTAs would get involved in really, truly enriching type of things. Now a lot more of the giving is for essentials.”

Some schools in lower-income areas, however, can’t turn to parents for costly gifts. At San Juan Elementary School in San Juan Capistrano, for instance, school officials have aggressively sought gifts and grants from corporations and local service clubs.

Recently, Apple Computer Inc. donated about $25,000 worth of equipment to the school, which was chosen as one of five in the nation for the development of the Spanish version of Apple’s new “early language connection” software.

“We’ve gone out there and aggressively hustled,” Principal Michael Hoy said.

Other businesses also have contributed heavily to local schools.

At Mission Viejo High School, Unisys Corp. recently donated six cases of videotape, 40 upholstered stacking chairs, 12 power extension cords, electronic test equipment and 100 three-ring binders worth a total of $1,500. The Mission Viejo Co. recently contributed an identification sign for the high school worth an estimated $9,000.

Used and even new cars for school auto shops are another frequent gift. In October, El Toro High School received a 1971 Volkswagen and a 1976 Mercedes from two donors. Last summer, Trabuco Hills High School received a new Honda Accord worth about $22,000 from American Honda Motor Company Inc.

On the more unusual side, San Clemente High School football boosters recently raised enough money to reseed the football field. Some schools have even received snakes and lizards to study, while a local couple recently gave 3,500 books worth about $14,000 to Cielo Vista Elementary School in Rancho Santa Margarita.

With no clear end in sight to state budget problems, educators say gifts will likely continue to play an essential role for schools.