REGION : Realtor Pledges Part of Sales to Schools

Real estate giant Jon Douglas Co. has taken the adopt-a-school idea a step further by committing part of its sales to eight Westside schools.

For properties sold by a Jon Douglas agent in the Palisades, Brentwood and Topanga Canyon areas, a portion of closing costs will go to support four Pacific Palisades charter schools--Marquez Elementary, Canyon Elementary, Palisades Elementary and Palisades High--as well as Paul Revere Middle School and Kenter Canyon Elementary in Brentwood, Topanga Elementary, and Temescal Canyon Continuation High in Pacific Palisades.

Regardless of the status of the real estate market, company President Jon Douglas said, the company will commit to a minimum contribution of $20,000 per year to be shared by the eight schools.

“We as a company want to make a contribution to the betterment of the schools,” said Douglas, noting the first question posed by many prospective buyers is, “How are the schools?’ ”

The four Palisades charter schools were among the first to achieve independent status from the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1993. Since then, parents and educators have taken advantage of their autonomy from school district and state control to try new ways to improve student achievement.

The Palisades Education Complex, which includes all eight schools, has a board of directors who have been pursuing corporate partnerships. Increasingly, parent groups are seeking corporate assistance to shore up school resources hurt by budget cuts.

“We really wanted to let the community know about the renaissance at the schools,” said Katie Braude, executive director of the Palisades Education Complex.

Braude, who has a daughter at Paul Revere Middle School and a son at Palisades High, said that “Jon Douglas recognized the link between good schools and property values, so he saw this as an opportunity to support schools and benefit the company.”

Some of the grant money will be used to create a technology link between the seven schools, said Merle Price, principal of Palisades.