Public Schools, Private Money

Debate in 2014: Use State Windfall for S.F. Schools to Aid Poorest Students, or Raise Teacher Pay?

02.03.2014

New state dollars will begin flowing into the San Francisco Unified School District in the fall — and policymakers and activists have already begun arguing over how to spend them. Should the San Francisco Board of Education use the $22 million from a new funding scheme to increase teacher salaries districtwide? Should it hire more classroom aides? Or should it adjust its decade-old equitable funding policy that gives a leg up to schools with many children from poor families?
Part of a special report on education inequality in San Francisco. A version of this story ran in the winter 2014 print edition.

Education

How Budget Cuts and PTA Fundraising Undermined Equity in San Francisco Public Schools

02.03.2014

By Jeremy Adam Smith, Freelance writer

PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PRIVATE MONEY: Parent fundraising for elementary education in S.F. skyrocketed 800 percent in 10 years. The largesse saved some classroom programs, but widened the gap between rich and poor.
In an era of shrinking public investment in schools, parents have struggled to hold the line one school at a time. Since the pre-recession year 2007, elementary school PTAs in San Francisco collectively managed to more than quadruple their spending on schools.
With this money, some schools have been able to pay teachers and staff, buy computers and school supplies, and underwrite class outings and enrichment activities. These expenses, previously covered by the taxpayers, are increasingly the responsibility of parents.
But school district finance data, PTA tax records and demographic profiles reveal an unintended byproduct of parents’ heroic efforts: The growing reliance on private dollars has widened inequities between the impoverished majority and the small number of schools where affluent parents cluster.
Part of a special report on education inequality in San Francisco. A version of this story ran in the winter 2014 print edition.

Education

Infographics: School Fundraising in S.F. by the Numbers

02.06.2014

By Jeffrey Thorsby, Researcher, Jason Winshell, Photo Editor, Photographer and Reporter, Tom Guffey, Director of Design and Justin Slaughter, Reporter

The San Francisco Unified School District aims to spend its funds equitably, not necessarily equally. That means giving more to schools with the highest needs, based on a complex formula. But in the past decade, parents at some schools have developed sophisticated fundraising operations to make up for years of tight districtwide budgets. The result: parents at a few schools are able to significantly supplement their children’s education, while most are not.
Part of a special report on education inequality in San Francisco. A version of this story ran in the winter 2014 print edition.

Bay Area

Albany School District Levels Parent Fundraising Playing Field

02.13.2014

By Emilie Raguso, Freelance writer

Concerned about equity, 3 elementary school PTAs pool money for daytime enrichment
The tiny Albany Unified School District in the East Bay was, until 2011, like many others in the state: Schools with the best parent fundraising were able to reap all the benefits for their own kids. Superintendent Marla Stephenson said the disparities had been immediately apparent when she began working for the district in 2008. Three years later she led the switch to a single annual campaign for all three schools — one that could provide an example for San Francisco and other districts struggling with inequities made worse by parent fundraising.
Part of a special report on education inequality in San Francisco. A version of this story ran in the winter 2014 print edition.

Education

10 Solutions to Inequality in Elementary School Fundraising

02.13.2014

By Jeremy Adam Smith, Freelance writer

PTA fundraising at public elementary schools in San Francisco is wildly uneven, with only a small number of schools raising enough money in recent years to avoid the worst effects of state budget cuts. Based on Public Press research and conversations with experts in the field, here are some options for addressing uneven access to funding for San Francisco’s public elementary schools.
Part of a special report on education inequality in San Francisco. A version of this story ran in the winter 2014 print edition.

By Justin Slaughter, Reporter

By Jeremy Adam Smith, Freelance writer

By Jeffrey Thorsby, Researcher, Jason Winshell, Photo Editor, Photographer and Reporter, Tom Guffey, Director of Design and Justin Slaughter, Reporter

By Jeremy Adam Smith, Freelance writer, Luke Thomas, Photographer and Tearsa Joy Hammock, photographer/videographer

By Emilie Raguso, Freelance writer

By Jeremy Adam Smith, Freelance writer