MANHATTAN BEACH EDUCATION FOUNDATION LAUNCHES ANNUAL APPEAL CAMPAIGN AIMED AT RAISING $2.5 MILLION FOR MBUSD SCHOOLS

Manhattan Beach, CA, September 7, 2006 -- The Manhattan Beach Education Foundation (MBEF) officially launched its 2006-2007 annual appeal campaign this week. The appeal aims to raise $2.5 million for Manhattan Beach Unified School District (MBUSD) schools to support a year’s worth of educational programs not paid for by public funds.

“California’s per student funding is among the lowest in the nation,” says Anne McLaughlin, MBEF president. “Every year parent donations help fill the gap between what the state gives us and what it takes to provide our children the education they deserve and parents desire.”

According to the California Department of Education, MBUSD currently ranks fifth among the state’s best-performing unified school districts. The district’s funding from the state, however, is just $5,800 a year per student, while the national average is $8,618, according to the latest figures from the National Education Association. The best-funded states in the nation spend over $10,000 a year per student.

MBUSD schools receive funding from MBEF in the form of grants made directly to the school district for programs specifically agreed upon by MBEF and the district. Last year’s annual appeal raised an unprecedented $2.3 million, which amounts to 4.8 percent of the district’s $48 million budget for 2006-2007. All of the money raised in MBEF’s annual campaign goes back into the schools.

Every student at the district’s seven schools benefits from MBEF. At each of the district’s five elementary schools, MBEF pays for a librarian, physical education teacher, computer lab teacher, assistant principal, health assistant (and a registered nurse who oversees the health assistants district wide), a teacher’s aide in each fourth and fifth grade classroom, and two instrumental music instructors who share their time amongst the elementary schools. MBEF also pays for any teacher who wants to participate in the National Board Certification program and partially funds the Young at Art program at elementary and middle school. Elementary grants total $1.35 million.

At Manhattan Beach Middle School, MBEF pays for a student advisor, the librarian, a musical assistant for the instrumental music program, a piano accompanist for the vocal music program, health and clerical assistants, and Scholar Quiz. Grants to the middle school total $282,000.

At Mira Costa High School, MBEF pays for a portion of the cost of the school’s elective courses, two college and career counselors, the librarian, a technology specialist, and the substance abuse education and prevention program known as PACE (People Achieving Complete Equality). MBEF also funds the AVID program which prepares students in the academic middle for four-year college eligibility. High school grants total $620,000.

Money raised in an MBEF annual appeal is spent in the following school year. For example, money raised in 2005-2006 will pay for grants made in the 2006-2007 school year. The 2005-2006 annual appeal raised $2.3 million -- more than enough money to pay for what MBEF had been funding in that school year. The additional money will be used this school year to increase PE teachers’ hours from part time to full time and to fund a second full-time college and career counselor at the high school. If more than $2.3 million is raised in the current appeal, MBEF may be in a position to add other grants for the 2007-2008 school year. This year’s annual appeal donation form includes a survey asking donors to prioritize areas for future MBEF grants.

As with any fundraising campaign, participation is critical. McLaughlin states, “We hope that everyone will contribute whatever they can to this annual appeal. It is important that we all give because we all benefit from good schools. The more people participate, and the more they give, the more we can do for the kids.”

The Manhattan Beach Education Foundation (mbef.org) is a non-profit foundation that supports educational programs in MBUSD that are not paid for by public funds. Founded in 1983 by concerned parents and community leaders of the South Bay, its role has evolved from providing limited educational enhancements, at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars, to funding critical educational programs at a cost of more than $2 million annually. MBEF’s board of directors consists of parents, community members, local business representatives, and PTA presidents from each of the district’s seven schools.