Thank you for your interest in and support of the newly formed Buckeye Education Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. The Foundation’s charter is to enhance the education of all K-8 students in the Buckeye Union School District; to fund programs that the District is unable to fund; and to provide funds to assist the District with capital improvements and to update technology. The Foundation will work in collaboration with exisiting PTAs, PTOs and Foundations at individual school campuses to channel funds back to the schools to protect at risk programs.
The Buckeye Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit collaboration of parents, educators and the community focused on providing supplemental funding to the six elementary schools and two middle schools within the Buckeye Union School District in El Dorado County, California.
The district-wide Foundation was formed in 2009 to address inadequate funding for schools at the state level.
The Buckeye Union School District recently declared that it will be unable to meet its financial obligations over the next 3 years. To learn more specifics about forced budget reductions, please read Superintendent Terry Wenig’s letter dated June 15, 2009, online at the District’s website (www.buckeyeused.org under Budget Info.)
The entire community, region and state!
Not only does excellence in education help ensure that our 4,527 children at the district’s eight schools remain competitive academically, quality schools promote higher property values and a better quality of living for our community and the state as a whole.
Funding for California’s schools is woefully inadequate. In fact, California has fewer school staff per pupil than any other state and our state’s per-student funding is near the very bottom of all 50 states.
What’s more, the state’s continued budget emergency has resulted in even deeper cuts to education over the last 18 months, impacting every public school district in California. The consequence has been increased class sizes, and programs such as fine arts, science, music, art, physical education and school counselors rapidly disappearing from schools all over California.
As a result, private academic foundations similar to Buckeye Education Foundation have been formed in nearly 600 California communities to support local schools.
Measure K, passed in 2006 by a majority of county voters, authorized the issuance of bonds specifically for school facility modernization and new construction projects, not the programs and staff the Foundation hopes to protect.
The goal of the Buckeye Education Foundation is to provide critical staff as well as protect and enhance at-risk programs and services provided to K-8 students that the district and state are unable to fund.
Specifically, the Foundation hopes to restore district funding to 2008-2009 levels in Technology, Physical Education/Health Specialists, Music/Band Specialists, Staffed Libraries, Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) programs, Middle School electives and school counselors.
The Foundation plans to work in conjunction with, and supplement the fundraising efforts of, campus-focused parent teacher organizations and foundations, with one fundamental advantage.
By law, school-specific PTA and Foundations cannot fund teacher and staff salaries. For example, as a district-wide entity, the Buckeye Education Foundation could put more teachers in the classrooms to help restore the vital K-3 class size reductions of 2009.
Representatives from each of the eight campuses are involved in the Foundation, at the board or committee level. Additionally, Foundation directors have established a system of ongoing communication and coordination with the PTAs/PTOs/Foundations at individual school campuses to coordinate fundraiser timing and avoid crossover efforts where possible.
The main sources of income will be an annual donation from school families, with matching corporate contributions from many of our parents’ generous employers.
In addition, the Foundation plans to hold fundraising events and solicit support from the business community and other foundations and organizations at the regional, statewide and national levels.
Finally we are pursuing ongoing efforts to secure funds through educational grants and endowments.
Yes. Please try to donate to both organizations because they fund different programs. BEF was created to fund vital enrichment programs district wide; these programs touch every child in our district. Your school’s PTA fundraises and pays for site-specific needs that vary school by school. Together, both organizations strive to meet the needs of each child, district wide through BEF, and school site specifically through your PTA.
While we are still working on specifics, it will take approximately $1.25 million in order to restore the program and staff cuts experienced since 2008(see below).
At each of the eight schools in the district, a minimum donation of $250 per child is being asked at the time of registration to cover the per-student cost of delivering the types of programs needed. As an example, with $250 per child raised, the Foundation could accomplish all of the following:
• Restore student/teacher rations to 20:1 in K-3 classrooms (currently 24-1)
• Restore Elementary Classroom Music to 2008-2009 levels
• Support Elementary Band
• Support Middle School Band
• Support 4 Elementary PE Specialists
We hope for 100% family participation, and we ask parents, no matter what your means, to give what you can.
There are many ways to support the Foundation financially – in person at the time of registration, online through our secure website, www.buckeyefoundation.org, or by mail to: PO Box 1141, Shingle Springs, CA, 95682.
Yes! The Buckeye Education Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation and donations are 100% tax deductible. Our tax ID # is 27-1254269.
Most medium and large-size employers offer some type of matching program. Simply send us the signed gift matching form from your employer and we’ll follow up and track any matching funds toward your family’s contribution.
Because the Foundation is completely volunteer-driven, we rely on fellow district parents and community members to staff our committees, organize fundraising efforts, and promote awareness of the Foundation.
No matter how small your time availability may be, the Foundation has a role for you. Please submit your contact information to info@buckeyefoundation.org.
Email the Buckeye Education Foundation at info@buckeyefoundation.org. Also, please follow us on Twitter to stay updated on Foundation efforts. The Foundation also welcomes you at its monthly board meetings the second Wednesday of each month at the district office in Shingle Springs.