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FAQs
What does the Coronado Schools Foundation do? What does the Coronado Schools Foundation do? The Coronado Schools Foundation (CSF) is a nonprofit 501-c-3 community-based foundation that raises money to improve the schools in the Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) It pays for programs (salaries, equipment and supplies) non funded or required by the state of California but our parents and educators consider necessary for a quality education. State funding for education in California is inadequate for many basic programs and insufficient to fund enrichment programs. Our school district receives less than $6,000 a year per student for ADA (average daily attendance), well below the national average. Back in the 1970’s, California was a leader in education spending but now falls in the bottom third of the 52 states. CSF helps fill the gap between what the state gives us and what it costs to provide a well-rounded, quality education for our children. Without donations to CSF, many programs that parents’ value in the arts, music and science would be impacted or in some cases, simply disappear. CSF has returned well over $3 million dollars since 1982 and generated $329,000 in net revenue at the end of the 2006-07 fiscal year (as of June 30th). If you are a new donor to CSF, we ask you to donate $200/child to the Partner in Education (PIE) campaign and consider becoming a Friend for Life/Life Member ($5,000 commitment over five years while you are an active Friends for Life and many parents keep giving). Sending your child to a private school costs $10,000 to $20,000 per child. $200/child or a Friends for Life Membership of $1,000/year or just $83.33/month is a real value. Every gift matters. Give what you can. There are over 3,000 children enrolled in Coronado’s five public schools. CSF asks parents to give $200/child, a real deal since Coronado’s public schools equate in many ways to private schools. If every parent gave $200/child, our donations from the Partner In Education (PIE) campaign would annually generate $600,000; much needed funds that could not only provide program support but also add teachers to reduce class size. Instead, our PIE donations so far this year equal $60,000 which equates to $20/child or approximately 20% contributing. We need your support. Every dollar counts. Every dollar makes a difference. Give what you can. Why do we need to provide supplemental funding for public schools, especially in a town that pays so much in property taxes to Sacramento? Since Prop 13 was passed, property taxes in almost all jurisdictions including Coronado do not stay within the community. Instead, all property taxes are allocated on a fair-share basis to cities and counties across the state. So, Coronado receives no more than other communities and in fact, often less funding, since the demographics of our students do not provide much in additional funding (like Title 1 funds). As a result, our schools receive the Average Daily Attendance (ADA) funding per student and little additional public funding to operate the schools. We have such beautiful school facilities. Why can’t these CDA funds be used for programs and to increase teacher salaries? Two very important decisions made by the city and people of Coronado have enabled the school district to construct first-class educational facilities. The first occurred when the city and school district established the Community Development Agency (CDA) in the 1980s and the second, when the school bond was passed in 1998. Additionally, the District receives funds from home expansion projects. Village Elementary School and the Blumenthal Sports Complex were constructed with CDA funds before 1998. With the passage of the bond, Coronado Unified School District was able to embark on a significant building program. That includes a new Middle School, a new Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) on 6th Street, a remodeled Silver Strand Elementary and Coronado High School, installed artificial field turf and track for Niedermeyer and Cutler Fields, built new tennis courts on D Avenue and a swimming pool on the campus of Coronado High School, a new facility for Palm Academy for Learning on D Avenue, a new Maintenance and Operations building at 7th Street, and a new District Office building at 201 6th Street. Our District is very thankful for the support our community has given to our facilities improvement program. By law, these funds cannot be used for operations or salaries, only to build and improve facilities. CSF relies on its volunteer Board of Directors to provide the vision for the future and professional staff oversight a well as “navy” of volunteers for the annual events. These key supporters not only give of their time but give to their ability financially to support the schools as well. Significant volunteer support + financial donations = CSF fundraising success = Much needed funds for our schools. Coronado’s public schools are academically top rated both in comparison to other public schools in San Diego County and well as across the state. If these schools rely only on inadequate and declining public funding, they will no longer be able to maintain the academic edge. Your financial support is critical to their continued success. How do Coronado’s public schools score on the statewide Academic Performance Index (API) tests? All are members of the prestigious “800”Club, meaning each campus has exceeded the desired 800 threshold in test scores on the Academic Performance Index (API) statewide performance testing as follows: 2007 CUSD API Scores: CUSD (3092 students): 878 CSF conducts an annual Partners in Education (PIE) appeal at the beginning of each school year to raise money for grants to the schools and sends a similar appeal during the year to Community Members. The Foundation also hosts two major fundraisers each year:
CSF solicits corporate and foundation donations directly through matching gift programs as well as business partnerships for the two main fundraisers. Why do we need both CSF and Parent Teacher Groups at each school? Both the Foundation and Parent Teacher Groups are critical to the quality of education in our community and work together to support the schools. In the spring of 2007, the Foundation and parent teacher group leaders forged a Parent Leadership Council (PLC) that meets monthly to coordinate fundraising efforts and ensure our school and classroom needs are being met. We like to summarize the roles by saying, "CSF provides program support like the Technology Resource Teachers (TRT) at each campus and the Parent Teacher Groups pay for things for the classroom.” CSF and the Parent Teacher Organization at each site are two pieces of the funding puzzle. School Parent Teacher Groups fund classroom and office supplies, instructional materials, computers and printers, field trips, school beautification, cultural arts and other school-specific needs. By virtue of their charters, Parent Teacher Groups are not intended to pay salaries. In Coronado, the Parent Teacher Groups work with CSF to raise the funds to maintain programs that we believe are crucial for our students. Parent Teacher Group presidents are invited to attend all CSF board meetings to provide input from each school on CSF decisions. Benefits of this partnership include:
How are Parent Teacher Group efforts changing as a result of this partnership? Parent teacher groups, especially at the elementary levels, are gradually returning to having social events for the purpose of building community, instead of major fundraising initiatives to pay for salaries. How does the CSF Block Grant process work? CSF projects its year-end fundraising totals after the Telethon and make fiscal year-end projections for June 30th. Schools are notified as soon as possible, no later than April 30th, as to their block grant amount for the following school year as well as Technology Resource Teacher (TRT) funding. This replaces a more hurried autumn grant calendar when Block Grants were awarded prior to forging this partnership with the Parent Teacher Groups and gaining the support of teachers in all grade levels at each campus. The Foundation Board felt the autumn calendar occurred too late in the school-year planning cycle to achieve the maximum potential benefits from CSF funds and school site administrators and teachers agreed. Who makes the Block Grant decisions at each school campus? During Site Strategic Planning Meetings held each February, these school-site committees, consisting of parents, students, teachers and administrators review current site needs and possible funding sources; these groups make recommendations as to which funding sources would be appropriate to reach site strategic planning goals. How is this process more transparent than previous processes for Program Funding? Every element of this process – Site Strategic Plans, block grant applications and presentations, and the CSF block grant award schedule – is open to inspection and participation by community members How will this ensure that donations fund the highest academic priorities of all students? By definition, the Site Strategic Plans offer the most researched, thoughtful and reviewed analyses of the academic needs and priorities of our schools. The foundation board believes the disciplines built into this planning process will result in better and higher uses of community donations for schools and in greater academic preparation and achievement by Coronado students How do I know the District is using CSF grants for their intended purpose? CSF does not write a blank check to the District. Instead, CSF makes a commitment to fund certain positions and programs based on the recommendations of the Block Grant Committee at each site and a vote of the CSF board. These grants, and their costs, are detailed on the website and will be detailed in our first annual report, coming spring 2008. In addition, each site provides both a written update mid-year regarding the block grant funding as well as an update regarding money spent and any challenges encountered. Give generously to CSF. CSF now returns over $200,000 per year in Program Funding to maintain the programs parents and educators value but that are not funded by the state. CSF ask parents, whatever their means, to give what they can to ensure quality education for their children. Get involved. Contact your school’s Parent Teacher Group president or CSF representative and offer to help with the annual appeal at your school. Attend a CSF board meeting (generally held the second Tuesday of the month) and learn more about our work. Volunteer to help at an event like the Dinner Auction or Telethon and join us at the final “Welcome Back to School” concert in the park each fall. If you are a donor, encourage your friends to join you in supporting CSF. Yes. The Coronado Schools Foundation is a California non-profit, public benefit, corporation. It is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The federal tax ID number for the foundation (EIN) is 94-274-5484. All donations are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Why does CSF print a list of donors’ names? Can I give anonymously? There is no Foundation without donors. It may sound trite, but every donor makes a difference, and each gift deserves to be acknowledged. We publicly thank annual appeal donors twice a year, at the conclusion of the annual appeal (the honor roll) and in the CSF Annual Report. These publications usually report giving by levels. During the campaign, school sites may acknowledge the families who have participated in the annual appeal to encourage others to give. These flyers identify donors, but not the size of their gift. You can give anonymously to CSF by noting it on your donation form or in the “comments” box on the online form. We will honor your request. We like to thank our donors by name because we believe it honors their gift, and establishes them as leaders in the community. Many people new to the District, or to CSF, give because they are prompted not by us, but by you. Seeing your name on a public acknowledgement tells the people who know and respect you that you have lent your support to our efforts. That usually means more than all the letters we can write.
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