Two Los Angeles County communities illustrate the gap in funding at the state’s public schools.
The Beverly Hills Unified School District last year spent about $3,000 per student more than the Baldwin Park Unified School District, due in part to an advantage it has over many other districts – affluent donors.
The Beverly Hills Education Foundation raises about $1 million each year from a charity ball, a summer school that generates fees from parents and other events. In one recent year, a single anonymous donation netted the district $275,000.
The foundation’s contributions make up only a small portion of the district’s funds, but they are critical to offsetting state budget cuts.
In April, the foundation launched its ONE Campaign – a fundraiser to generate $1 million in one week. It reached half its goal by asking parents to donate at least $365 per child in the family and extended the campaign by another week. The district plans to use the money to help rescind layoff notices issued this spring.
“We are really rallying our community, and not waiting until the state of California tells us how much less money we are going to receive next year,” said Alex Cherniss, the district’s assistant superintendent for business services.
In contrast, Baldwin Park’s education foundation is able to raise only about $25,000 a year – a fourth of what the Beverly Hills foundation has spent on the annual salary of its full-time fundraiser alone.
“We just don’t have the ability to be squeezing people,” said Baldwin Park Superintendent Mark Skvarna. “If I had an Apple Ball, and charged $300 per ticket, five people would show up. No one has that kind of money, especially after the economic meltdown we have been going through.”
He says he has done everything possible to reduce costs without laying off teachers, including cutting dozens of positions in his district’s central office. He applied for federal stimulus funds, which allowed the district to build a massive solar collector that will save millions of dollars in energy costs.
Skvarna is realistic about the budget he has. “We need to be more effective with the money we get,” he said. “I need to be able to compete with Beverly Hills, even with less money, so I need to be smarter in how I spend it.”
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