Is Public School Really "FREE" and "EQUAL"? What are Donations Paying For At Your School?

CUSD has had to cut it's budget by $130 million over the past six years, and is looking to cut $12 million more in 2014-2015. As programs are cut, maintenance is deferred and class sizes continue to expand, the District is having to rely on donations to fund core educational programs.

There has been growing pressure placed on parents of CUSD students to "donate" and "fundraise" to pay for those things that they preceive to be fundamental to their children's education. 92% of CUSD's budget currently goes to employee compensation, leaving only 8% of the Districts total budget to pay for "everything else". Building maintenance has being deferred for years, donations from parents are paying for supplies, instructional materials, art, music and science programs. Donations are now being used to buy back school librarians, councilors, nurses and instructional aids. Donations are also paying for teacher stipends, teacher release time, and staff development. In addition to the PTA as a fundraising organization, schools now have Foundations and Booster Clubs all working tirelessly to provide those things that the District is legally obligated to provide for free, under the California Constitutions "Free School Guarantee".

At every Board of Trustees Meeting there is an Agenda Item that specifies what has been donated to the District for what purpose. At the January 8, 2014 Board meeting Agenda Item #13 specifies $423,072.40 in donations. The following are some donations that caught my eye, and made me wonder about a few things-

CLASS SIZE-

CUSD has the largest class sizes in the Nation. Fundraising organizations are now raising money to buy back teachers and aids resulting in smaller class sizes in wealthier schools while schools who cannot fundraise suffer unmanageable class sizes.
 

Facts:

Average class size for teachers in public elementary and secondary schools, by state: 2011-12

Source for all 50 States:

See: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_209.30.asp

California Student/Teacher Ratio: 

• Elementary School: 25:1
• Secondary School: 32:1

• Kindergarten: 30.5 students to 1 teacher
• Grades 1-5: 31.5 students to 1 teacher
• Grades 6-8: 32.5 students to 1 teacher
• Grades 9-12: 34.5 students to 1 teacher  

• $16,290.00 Reading Intervention Teacher Moulton Elementary School
• $12,483.00 Classified Instructional Aid- Science Moulton Elementary School
• $8,200.00 Classified Instructional Aid- Science San Juan Elementary School PTA
• $54,000 Instructional aids Salary Mako Foundation
• $1,756.19 Certificated Teachers Salaries Mako Foundation 

• $18,710.00 5th Grade Science Camp - Arroyo Vista Science Camp
• $21,000.00 Music Teachers Salaries - Bathgate Elementary Foundation
• $1,243.12 Meet the Masters Art Program - Hidden Hills PTA
• $32,632.00 5th Grade Outdoor Science School - Ladera Ranch Education Foundation
• $10,707.50 Elementary School Music Program- Ladera Ranch Education Foundation
• $1,518.00 Art Masters Program (2nd Installment) - Moulton Elementary School
• $1,518.00 Art Masters Program (3rd Installment) - Moulton Elementary School
• $4,556.84 Meet the Masters Program - Wagon Wheel Elementary School 

Pali Adventures: Operates a summer adventure camp for kids and teens including 18 specialty camps: Acting, Broadcast, Culinary, Dance, DJ, Extreme Action, Fashion, Film, Flying Trapeze, Girl Power, Hollywood Stunt, Leadership, Motorsports, Movie Make-up, Rock Star, Secrete Agent, wacky science and Watersports camp which run about $1,865 per week. http://www.paliadventures.com/ 

Pali Mountain Retreat & Conference Center- a year-round facility for corporate meetings or large events through Pali Weddings and Pali Parties, also based near Lake Arrowhead, CA;  http://www.paliretreat.com/

Los Angeles Family magazine and sister publications Ventura Family and South Bay Family, which are distributed throughout Southern California.

Choose a Camp http://www.chooseacamp.com/ and Pick a Camphttp://pickacamp.com/ where parents can find the best camps for their kids.

Pali Institute: http://www.paliinstitute.com/staff.html 

Does anyone else feel that there are legal, moral and ethical concerns about allowing our School District to rely on fundraising to pay for staff, curriculum and building maintenance? 

For a Full List of Donations see the documents at the top of this article see: http://sanjuancapistrano.patch.com/groups/eye-on-education/p/98287f44-e97b-40a3-92e4-3565d47463ad