LAEF will raise $3 million to fund programs for 2012-13

We are pleased to announce that the Los Altos Educational Foundation has committed to raise $3 million for K-8 enrichment programs and innovation in 2012-13.

The grant for 2012-13 was developed by the LAEF Board of parent volunteers with input from many sources. We prioritized programs based on the following:

• Parent input from our survey on current programs and priorities
• Staff input from survey on current programs and priorities
• District adminstrators on educational priorities
• Individual program costs and quality
• Distribution of program costs proportionally across all grades K-8
• Our best guess on fundraising for the coming year

LAEF 2012-13 Grant Details:

The “baseline” is the term our district uses to describe the educational program LASD can afford with its public sources of revenue like property and parcel taxes plus state and federal funding. The baseline program is what our schools would look like next year if we didn’t have a non-profit foundation funded by parent donations to help fill in the gaps in public support.

 District baseline program would have K-3 classes capped at 30, 7-8 average class sizes at 30, no enrichment programs, limited junior high electives, and libraries closed district-wide.

The LAEF grant of $3 million is comprised of an LAEF baseline grant of $2,540,000 and an innovation grant of $460,000.

CLICK HERE for detailed 2012-13 grant information.

2012-13 Grant Benefits By Grade

The LAEF board of parent volunteers works very hard to balance our grant as evenly as possible across all grades K-8 so that all children in the district receive a similar value from LAEF grants. This year the program costs range from $262,000 to $310,000 per grade. The grant is also balanced between Elementary and Junior Highs based on the enrollment at each level. The Junior High grant represents 22% of the total grant with Junior High planned enrollment at 22% of total district enrollment for next year.

Note: Program costs are estimates provided by the District Superintendent and his staff. Because these costs are for staff salaries and benefits, they vary based on the experience and pay level of each teacher or specialist that are reinstated in order of seniority once LAEF commits the grant to the District. Therefore, it is difficult to construct a program that has exactly equal costs across all grades, but LAEF makes the best effort to fund equal value to all students.

Make your 2012-13 tax-deductible LAEF contribution today! - Click here to donate online.

To reach our 2012-13 fundraising goal, we’re seeking a one-time donation of $1,000 per child or $100 per month per child.