Publication Date: Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Save the music
Save the music
(April 27, 2005) Students aid effort to preserve programs
by Alexandria Rocha
After chorus was cut at Walter Hays Elementary School this year because of shrinking school budgets, fourth-graders Brook Bullington and Molly Goodspeed decided to take action.
With their parents' help, the girls bought 3,000 blue wristbands -- fashioned after Lance Armstrong's -- that read "Support Schools" and started selling them at $3 a pop. So far, they've made more than $3,000.
Brook, 9, and Molly, 10, will take their fund raiser's message to the podium today. They will be guest speakers at a local kick-off for the statewide PTA rally today and Thursday to help protect and preserve school funding.
"Things have been dropping from our school activities. We've lost the chorus, we've lost the music and we don't want to lose things like PE," said Molly. "It doesn't make me feel good at all, neither does it make Brook. We wouldn't feel good if we lost any more."
Molly and Brook will be some of the youngest speakers at today's event -- held at Terrell Elementary School in San Jose -- which is meant to motivate those participating in Thursday's Caravan for Kids project. Dozens of PTA delegations from around the state, including one from Palo Alto, will depart in buses to the state Capitol where they'll rally for adequate school funding.
The parents will focus on encouraging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to uphold Proposition 98, which secures school funding, and to restore the $2 billion already taken away to curb budget dilemmas in other state departments.
The Palo Alto Unified School District, however, is less affected by the governor's budget proposals because it largely operates on local property tax revenues. The Palo Alto parents participating in this week's events are thinking on a statewide level, rather than local, said Palo Alto PTA member Erwin Morton.
"We are not an island. It's not as if Palo Alto is a walled city and we can isolate ourselves from things that go on outside. The whole state is one community," said Morton, who will be riding the local bus to Sacramento on Thursday.
"To the extent that we fail to support our schools, we're undermining the success of the next generation."
The local school district did feel a sting a few years ago, however, when the state took away its per-pupil funding, which was $120 a student. As a basic-aide district, the 17-school system no longer receives any additional funding as its enrollment continues to grow.
Because of increased enrollment, lack of additional funds, the shaky state budget and sliding property taxes, Palo Alto Unified has cut $6.5 million in staff and programs over the past few years. This school year, to avoid additional layoffs, the district used $3.4 million from its reserves.
Brook and Molly's wristband fund raiser is proof the cuts are being felt inside the classroom, which is what administrators and Board of Education members have tried to avoid.
Once the girls sell all 3,000 bracelets, their plan is to present the money to Partners in Education, or PIE, a local organization consisting of parents and community members dedicated to fundraising for the Palo Alto school district.
Morton said there is still time to sign up for Thursday's rally bus to the state Capitol. He can be e-mailed at erwin@morton.net.
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