FAQ’s

Who is Pleasanton Partnerships In Education Foundation (PPIE)?

PPIE, Pleasanton Partnerships in Education Foundation, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational foundation supporting students and staff of the Pleasanton Unified School District for more than 25 years. PPIE is working to proactively fund-raise to maintain a high quality, well rounded education for our students across all Pleasanton public schools. Additionally, PPIE provides grant funding to faculty & students supporting projects which have no district funds available.

Why do we need an education foundation?

In the last 5 years, the state has reduced education funding by $1600/student.

• Approx. $23 million has been cut from the PUSD budget over the past 5 years, These cuts have resulted in:
  • Increased class sizes in elementary, middle and high school
  • Reduced course offerings for high school students
  • Reduced support for libraries, art and music programs
  • Reduced custodial support and building maintenance
• 600 California school districts have an education foundation to help fill the gap in public financing.
• An education foundation can also provide:
  • Programs for students (ie- Career Day Program)
  • Grant funding to faculty and students supporting projects with no district funding
  • Partnership between business and community with Pleasanton schools

What are other communities doing to address the state budget’s impact on education funding?

The state limits the way in which communities can fundraise to save staff based programs and services

Some other interesting findings in the benchmarking were:

• 75% of dollars raised were through parent donations, the other 25% was businesses, corporate matching, community etc
• Most foundations have a 50-80% family participation rate. By comparison, last year PPIE had 15% family participation rate.
• Nearly all districts benchmarked fundraise for their foundation at the district level, other than San Ramon, which is comprised of San Ramon, Danville and Alamo.

Public Education should be free, why am I being asked to donate to pay for programs and services?

Yes – public education should be and is free. Unfortunately public financing alone can no longer provide the high quality education we expect in our community. When adjusted for inflation, California invests less on education now than at any point since or during the Great Depression.

Cuts are announced each year, and in the end money seems to appear and programs are restored, why should I donate?

For the past several years, numerous programs have been saved by employee concessions.
For example, for this school year 2012-2013, employee concessions helped restore some counselors, reading specialists, additional sections at high school, physical education at elementary, and high school ROP. PPIE’s Annual Giving Fund helped fund elementary reading and technology specialists as well as middle and high school technology and student support programs. PSEE restored elementary band and strings.
For the school year 2011-2012, one time federal funding enabled programs such as class size reduction and the above programs to be restored that would’ve otherwise been eliminated. PPIE helped fund technology and library specialists at elementary and middle school as well as technology and student support programs at high school. PSEE restored elementary band and strings.

If Pleasanton can establish a broad base of donors contributing an amount comfortable to them, we will be able to restore vital programs and shift the focus away from the budget and back toward excellence in education. We can do this and you can be part of the solution.

How can I help?

PPIE is suggesting a donation of $35/elementary student per month or a one-time donation of $350 and middle and high school are suggesting a donation of $20/student per month or a one-time donation of $200 to help restore critical programs and services that cannot be funded through any other source than PPIE’s Giving Fund.

• Please also join our email distribution list to stay informed
• Email Debi Covello, PPIE Executive Director at mail@ppie.org to get involved with events such as Bon Appetit, we can always use extra help
• Join the Student Advisory Board to get involved

What is the goal of PPIE’s School Advisory Board?

Short Term Goal: To have every PUSD family and the community get involved with helping to fund programs that directly affect our children

Long Term Goal: To bridge critical gaps in public education funding and enhance classroom education for PUSD students

What programs will be supported through the PPIE Foundation/Where does my money go?

GIVING FUND GOALS FOR 2013 -014
Utilizing the results of the parent survey, the PPIE School Advisory Board identified the following programs to be supported in the PPIE Annual Giving Fund campaign:

Elementary – Suggested Donation $35/month/student or $350 /student

• $138,000 – Funds 1 Literacy Coach (formerly Reading Specialist) and 1 hour per week per school site Tech Specialist
• $276,000 -Funds the above PLUS 1 additional Literacy Coach (formerly Reading Specialist) (2 total) and 1 additional hour/week per school site Tech Specialist (2 hours / week total)
• $601,000 – Funds all of the above PLUS funds CSR (Class Size Reduction) – 1st gr classes to 25 students (from 30)
• $1,000,000 – Funds all of the above PLUS Elementary PE Specialist
• $1,080,000 – Funds all of the above PLUS Elementary Counseling

Any shortfall in achieving the next funding level will be divided on a per pupil basis across the 9 elementary schools to be used at the site via principal and school site council discretion within the above program areas only.

Middle – Suggested Donation $20/month/student or $200 /student

• Additional Class Sections
• Counseling
• Technology

Funds raised will be divided on a per pupil basis across the 3 middle schools to be used at the site via principal and school site council discretion within the above program areas only.

High – Suggested Donation $20/month/student or $200 /student

• Class Sections (including ROP)
• Counseling
• Technology
• Campus Supervision

Funds raised will be divided on a per pupil basis across the 3 middle schools to be used at the site via principal and school site council discretion within the above program areas only.

Please note, we did not include Music/Arts to avoid confusion with PSEE but we do support and value that effort. Within the PPIE Foundation, there is a branch for elementary, middle and high school.
How does PPIE’s Annual Giving Fund benefit my child directly?
Literacy Couches (formerly Reading Specialists) – Enables class time to be focused on instruction vs. intervention but students who need more support have access to critical reading intervention. Private tutoring costs an average of $50/hour

Tech Specialists – Ensures the technology in the labs and the classrooms are fully operating and maintained.
The cost of employing “Geek squad” to serve these needs would be approx $100/visit

CSR 1st grade – If a child isn’t reading at grade level by the end of 1st grade there is only a 20% chance they ever will read at grade level; having more individual time with the kids is important to meet their needs early on. With 30 kids in the classroom, they will receive at least 33% less individual time with the teacher relative to the plan when the new standards were implemented and class sizes were 20:1. With fewer children more time is spent on instruction rather than behavior management. Additionally saving CSR at 1st grade builds momentum to save CSR at other grade levels (2nd grade would be next). Private tutoring costs an average of $50/hour

PE Specialists –While children would still get 2 sections of PE weekly, one section would be taught by the classroom teacher reducing instructional minutes for other subjects by 45 minutes weekly and resulting in school being dismissed 45 minutes early one day each week. Additionally obesity is a nationwide epidemic as 1 in 3 children in the US are obese so not only keeping children active but teaching them healthy behaviors at an early age is critical. Early dismissal one day each week may result in increased cost of child care.

Counseling – The counselors play a key role in working with students, parents and teachers to meet student needs and identify/address challenges. Additionally, the onsite counseling can provide ongoing daily support having site based context; while utilizing a private counselor typically costs $150/hour.

Additional Class Sections -Funding additional class sections for our high schools allows Principals to better serve students’ needs. In tight budgetary times, it is difficult to offer a class that is not fully enrolled. Funding a few extra sections allow Principals some discretion to schedule an additional class so that students may progress on graduation requirements, offer a lower class size for students needing additional academic support, or enable students to have room in their schedules to take highly popular electives, such as band, drama or art.

How will we achieve the PPIE Foundation goal?
PPIE is suggesting a donation of $35/elementary student per month or a one-time donation of $350 and middle and high school are suggesting a donation of $20/student per month or a one-time donation of $200 to help restore critical programs and services that cannot be funded through any other source than PPIE’s Giving Fund. The suggested donations reflect the cost to restore the programs parents identified as high priority.
If all students would be sponsored, PPIE could raise well over $3.5 million to restore critical programs and services. Currently we have approximately a 15% participation rate. In addition, several events support PPIE throughout the year including Bon Appetit October 6 and The Pleasanton Run For Education – 1/2 Marathon/5K April 14.

To achieve the full elementary goal it would only take 50% of elementary students fully sponsored at $350. Funding the list of identified elementary programs privately would cost approx $350/HOUR*.
Donations of $200/middle or high school student/year, would help maintain counseling, additional sections, technology and high school campus supervision. To meet those program needs if funded privately would cost well over $200/HOUR*.

*Expenditures based on private counselor – $100-150/hour, private tutor – $50/hour (avg), Geek Squad – $100+/ visit, Campus Supervision private – $25-30/hour,

Why did the suggested donations increase?
The state has cut funding by $1600 per student. Relative to other communities, our suggestion donation is still on the lowest end and without a parcel tax it is our only way to raise money to restore these programs. The revised suggested donation is in line with parent survey results and are such that the programs parents identified as high priority can be achieved.

Think about it like this

• PPIE Foundation – $20-35 per student per month
• Daily dose of caffeine – $30+/month
• Fall activities/sports – $50+/month
• Private tutoring – $50/hour
• Filling up the gas tank – $60+
• Monthly dinner out – $60+
• Preschool – Minimum $300+/month
• Private School – $1000+/month
• Quality Education…priceless**
  **All donations are 100% voluntary and tax deductible

I’m not currently in a position to give the suggested donation, what should I do?

We understand that not everyone is able to give the suggested donation amount. A gift of any amount, that is meaningful to your family, will greatly help. We are striving for 100% participation at any level. It is by thousands of individuals donating what they can that will enable us to collectively achieve our goal. If every family could consider donating even just $10/month, we could raise $1 million. We strive for 100% participation but are currently at 15%. You can set up monthly installments in any increment that works for our family and the donation is tax deductible. Every donation is greatly appreciated.

Why are you fundraising now for school year 2013 / 2014?

We are attempting to get ahead of the budgeting process and provide PUSD with funding availability information prior to sending out pink slips for the following year. The budgeting process begins in mid-January once the state’s budget is delivered. Thus….we will be raising funds through March 31 to support the following school year.

I donate to my student’s school, why should I donate to PPIE?
Both efforts are critical as they each fund important but different things.

• PPIE can fund staff based programs and services district wide, which students benefit from at each site such as Teachers for CSR and additional class sections, Specialists (for Reading, Technology and PE) and Counselors. This ensures equity across the district yet centralizes staffing to have high quality programs at a lower overall cost.
• Parent clubs can fund school specific expenses such as technology/computers, equipment, and teaching supplies.

We strongly encourage you to support both efforts to provide a solid educational foundation for your student(s)

Who is the PPIE Education Foundation Committee?

The Education Foundation Committee (formerly School Advisory Board) is comprised of 2-3 representatives from each school site (appointed this year – elected in the future) including parents and / or faculty members. Representatives are grouped into 3 groups: Grades K-5 / Grades 6-8 / Grades 9-12. Each group will elect 1 member to sit on the Board of Directors (3 members total). This is a 1 year commitment. EFC responsibilities include gathering school site input to determine what support is needed from PPIE (ANNUAL fundraising needs), communication with your group to provide recommendations for PPIE board (Fundraising goals, efforts,) development and implementation strategies to reach objectives (Marketing plan, events, etc), ongoing Communication with your school site, and volunteering for PPIE events / needs (Walk-thru registration, Kinder Round-up, Bon Appetit, Annual Luncheon, Pleasanton Run For Education, etc) If you would like to be considered for this position, please contact your school’s Principal.

Why Class Size Reduction (CSR) in 1st grade?

To gain the benefit of the state subsidization the class size needs to be 25:1 in the grade level. So rather than being able to fund-raise for K-3 by student (29:1, 28:1, and so forth), it’s only financially viable when at 25:1. As such fundraising needs to be done on a grade by grade basis. 1st grade was the first to have CSR implemented and therefore would be the first to be restored, 2nd grade would be second and then it’s optional whether K or 3rd would be restored next.

Can we hire aides as a more cost effective approach to CSR?
It was explored whether hiring aides would be a more cost effective approach to reduce class sizes. It is actually more expensive to hire aides than maintain class size reduction at 25:1. Having an instructional aide in each first grade classroom (or any one grade level) across the district for 2 hours daily would cost $393,000 while maintaining class size at 25:1 the full day in first grade would cost $325,000. Taking this further, having an aide in each K-3 classroom for 2 hours daily would cost $1.54 million; while having a ratio of 25:1 in all K-3 classrooms the full day costs $1.3 million. Therefore it is more cost effective to restore CSR than to hire aides given the state subsidization.

What would be the cost of having class sizes at 20:1 in K-3?
It costs $1.3 million to reduce classes at 25:1 in K-3 and would be additional $1.6 million to reduce class sizes to 20:1 in K-3 for a total of $2.9 million. $1.3 million equates to roughly $325 per student in K-3.

When should I donate?
Donations for PPIE’s Annual Giving Fund will be accepted any time through March 31, 2013.

What will be the impact should a tax initiative pass in November?
The tax initiatives help prevent more cuts from happening. PPIE is raising funds for program reductions that have already been made. As such, PPIE is raising funds for programs that are already eliminated for 2013-2014.

I already pay high property taxes, why should I donate more to the schools?

Please see the following links about how education funding works. California sets a flat amount of funding per student. As a revenue limit district, the property tax amount does not affect the amount we get per student, so as property taxes rise, the schools do not see a direct benefit.

How does education funding work in California?

http://www.pleasanton.k12.ca.us/BusinessServices/Budget/Downloads/Basics%20of%20CA’s%20School%20Finance%20System.pdf

For more on how revenue limits work, visit here: http://www.pleasanton.k12.ca.us/BusinessServices/Budget/Downloads/RevenueLimitsFacts.pdf

How does the PUSD budget process work?

http://www.pleasanton.k12.ca.us/BusinessServices/Budget/Downloads/BudgetFlowChart100113.pdf

How does California stack up?
http://www.edsource.org/iss_fin_bud_debates.html#faq

What were the results of the PPIE Parent Survey?

Elementary School Programs rated as the most valuable to parents (ranked in top 3)

• Classroom Sizes 74%
• Reading Specialists 36%
• Tech Specialists 36%
• PE Specialists 35%
• Counseling 24%

Middle School Programs rated as the most valuable to parents (ranked in top 3)

• Number of class sections 82%
• Counseling 63%
• Tech Specialists 54%
• Library Assistants 33%
• Vice Principals 29%

High School Programs rated as the most valuable to parents (ranked in top 3)

• Number of class sections 81%
• 9th grade class sizes 76%
• Counseling 59%
• Campus Supervision 40%
• ROP Classes 17%

61% of participants are willing to donate $150-349/student to save top ranked programs

14% of participants are willing to donate $350-540/student to save top ranked programs