$5.6M is goal for schools' fund drive

Enterprise staff
 
The Davis Schools Foundation announced its 2010 Dollar-a-Day Campaign - with an ambitious $5.6 million goal, enough to retire more than 100 layoff
notices that have already been authorized for teachers and other school district employees - at a forum Thursday morning at the Davis Odd Fellows Hall.

'A dollar figure that high can't help but attract attention,' said Maria Ungermann, Davis Schools Foundation vice president. 'This fund drive has the
potential to 'go viral' once the community realizes what is at stake.'

At stake are core educational programs and jobs in the Davis Joint Unified School District. Impacts of the reductions, which were triggered largely by
the state budget crisis, will be felt locally at every grade level and at every school in the district.  The cuts mean bigger classes, fewer course offerings, reduced secondary counseling, and a slashing of campus safety and support services.

Over the past five years, the Davis Schools Foundation has become increasingly important as a means of channeling local financial support to the Davis school district.  Back in spring 2008, when the Davis Board of Education faced the prospect of cutting more than $3 million from its budget, the foundation expanded its efforts, with the goal of preserving jobs for school librarians, science teachers, music teachers and others. That year, the foundation raised $1.7 million in contributions. As a result, more than 25 school district jobs were saved.

Now, yet another round of funding reductions from Sacramento has left Davis with a new $5.6 million shortfall - resulting in pink slips for 80 teachers and counselors (which would result in a roughly 15 percent additional reduction in the district's faculty), and pink slips for another 22 custodians, secretaries and support staff.

If those pink slips cannot be rescinded via funds donated through local fundraising by May 1, the Davis school district will have downsized its
workforce by roughly 20 percent since 2008.

While fundraising efforts over the past five years have raised several million dollars, 'We've only involved 10 percent of parents in our fundraising so far,' Ungermann said. 'If every family in our community did what they could, we could work miracles this year.'

This article originally appeared in the Davis Enterprise March 5, 2010. The complete story is available to subscribers at http://www.davisenterprise.com.