School Fund-Raising Teaches Lessons in Disparity

When the weather turns cool, PTA President Linda Reyes posts herself in front of Blanchard School in Santa Paula a few times each week to sell cups of popcorn for 25 cents each.

The profit margin is high--both the popcorn and cups are donated. Reyes can usually pull in around $40 a day.

But at the new Lang Ranch School in Thousand Oaks, fund-raising is run more like a small business than a lemonade stand. During a silent auction in late August, for example, booster club organizers sold coveted items such as a signed Lakers jersey and a guitar signed by the Goo Goo Dolls rock band.

That day, parents made $10,000--thousands more than Reyes made all last year.

Parents have always chipped in with labor, materials and money to help their public schools. But the growing importance of fund-raising has led to disparities between schools in rich and poor communities, educators say.

“Inequities do exist, and it’s difficult to find a way to undo them,” said Lawrence Picus, an associate professor of education at USC.

Both educators and parents point to a dramatic decline in the funding of public schools as the culprit.

“All of the groups, they all feel the same way,” said Lori Stenovich, PTA president at Ladera School in Thousand Oaks. “They became the fund-raisers because the state of California wasn’t there for them. Somebody had to do it.”

The state is ranked 42nd in funding nationwide, according to the Department of Education--down from fifth in 1965. California spends $1,100 less per student per year than the average state.

And although the education budget grows each year, it grows more slowly than in other states, said Sandra Silva, an education consultant for the state.

“As a result, we’re falling further and further behind everyone else,” she said.

Slow increases in funding combined with Proposition 13, the 1978 measure that limited property-tax increases, has forced districts to dispense with many programs not required by law, said Picus. Art and music teachers, new library books or computers were the first to go.

“Now it’s up to the PTA . . . to provide these things,” said Peggy Buckles, president of the Conejo Council PTA, a group that oversees PTA chapters in the Thousand Oaks district. “I’m 50, and when I went to school, that was just included.”

The money raised doesn’t approach state funding levels, but school officials say they depend on it. At Ladera, the PTA covers the cost of the school’s computer program.

“There’s no doubt about it that if that funding wasn’t there, it would have a major impact,” said Ladera Principal Neil Snyder.

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Although parent leaders at many schools put energy into their fund-raisers, wealthier districts often bring in thousands more each year than those serving residents with lower incomes, parent leaders say.

“It leads to inequities,” said Buckles. “If you live in an area where parents are more affluent, then the PTA will be able to afford more.”

At Lang Ranch, parents were hard at work months before the school opened. In less than one month, about $10,000 was raised from donors to have their names on a plaque in the school’s front hallway.

In another example, for $20 a head, parents schmoozed with district officials at an elegant Saturday-evening cocktail party in August, complete with an open bar and hors d’oeuvres. The booster club made $2,500 for the new school that night.

The PTA and booster club used the total $33,000 raised to help buy playground equipment and start a scrip program, also expected to bring in thousands of dollars for the school.

Reyes said the PTA at Blanchard, which raised about $7,500 last year, does its best to spread the dollars around--passing a small amount of money to each teacher for supplies and field trips rather than trying to buy computers or playground equipment.

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“I would love to be able to spend $8,000 and get a rubber blacktop like some of the schools have,” Reyes said. “But those are dreams down the road.”

Parent fund-raising can contribute to higher academic achievement, experts say, although they acknowledge this point is hard to prove.

“You go to a school that’s got $10,000 per student and a school that has $5,000 per student, and you can’t tell me there’s no difference in the quality of education,” said Silva of the Department of Education. “It’s not going to guarantee achievement, but it’s sure going to make it easier.”

Successful fund-raising often depends on more than just wealth, parent leaders say. Parent involvement may be the most important factor.

Any school, whether the community is rich or poor, needs committed parents to organize a successful fund-raising effort, some say.

“I think if people want something badly enough for the school, whatever area they’re in, they will work hard to do it,” said Jan Domene, a vice president of the state PTA. “And people work hard on different levels. Some write checks, some come down and do it.”

Becki Wood, who helped in the Lang Ranch effort, said, “I don’t think it’s going to matter if you’re in South-Central [Los Angeles] or Thousand Oaks, a school is a school. The difference between South-Central and Thousand Oaks is your parent volunteers.”

But there are dramatic differences in parent participation.

In Santa Paula, where the median household income is about $32,000, the Blanchard School PTA has just seven members: three parents and four teachers.

“I would really like to see more involved,” Reyes said. “But the way the economy is, these parents have to work full time, and it’s difficult for them.”

In Thousand Oaks, where the median income is about $57,000, PTA parents volunteered 163,220 hours last year.

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At Ladera School there, some 650 PTA members sold gift wrap, cookie dough and scrip to raise $95,000 last year. Six volunteers each day are on hand just to staff the scrip-sales table.

Whether rich or poor, parents who work to raise money for the schools say they are angry the state hasn’t made their children’s education a priority.

“In California, regrettably, we have to work more toward getting the kids the basics,” Buckles said. “I mean, every school should have a music teacher.”