Regarding last week’s SMMUSD Board of Education meeting on district-wide fund-raising, I’d like to dispel some myths about the SMM Education Foundation since I have been one of their many volunteers over the years. The Ed Foundation raises funds for all students at all schools and makes no policy decisions. The misconception that this district-wide fund-raising idea came from the Ed Foundation detracts from the larger issue of the educational inequities in our schools. Someone pointed out that the Foundation raises only $400,000 a year, but this speaker obviously doesn’t know about the Foundation’s $2 million Arts Endowment and $1 million Academic Endowment. And let’s not forget about the $1.7 million 60-day fundraiser (S.O.S.) that the community rallied behind two summers ago to save teachers and librarians after the state budget cuts. One speaker also mentioned 21 percent in administrative expenses which really got me laughing. It is 7 percent.
We all love our children and want the best for them. We are a unified school district with richly diverse schools all with different needs. So let’s focus on our schools and leave the politics to Washington.
Yolanda Lewis