“Supporting our Students for 30 Years”
By Edita McQuary
The year 1983 was a difficult time for Scotts Valley schools. The passage of the People’s Initiative to Limit Property Taxation, commonly known as Proposition 13, also limited the amount of funds California schools would receive from the State. Further, the State’s classification of Scotts Valley as a rural district combined with other imbalanced funding formulas left Scotts Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) funded at a significantly lower amount than other Districts in the State.
Unequal State Education Funding
To this day, Scotts Valley Schools receive less funding per student than 97% of other unified districts throughout the State. Although this inequality in funding flies in the face of the State Supreme Court ruling that School Districts should receive equal funding, legislators have failed to resolve this disparity in funding. The State’s inaction has left Scotts Valley schools permanently short of funds.
Scotts Valley Education Foundation Established
But, desperate times call for desperate measures. An enlightened group of Scotts Valley parents and educators decided the children in their community deserved a first-rate education despite the State’s inadequate funding. They formed the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit “Scotts Valley Educational Foundation” and started raising funds in the community. Since its inception in 1983, SVEF estimates it has donated over two million dollars (!) in support the most critical education needs of the Scotts Valley School District.
In the last two years alone, SVEF donated over $307,000 to the SVUSD, which has allowed the District to: keep libraries open at all four schools; provide Guided Language Acquisition Training for teachers; improve technology throughout the District, and much more.
Working to Provide a Quality Education
How have they done this? Derek Timm, SVEF’s current President states, “SVEF’s commitment to ensuring SVUSD has the funds necessary to provide quality education programs drives the organization. We make an effort to support a child’s education from the day they begin kindergarten through the day they graduate from high school. Every member is a volunteer, which allows the organization to commit 100% of its proceeds towards supporting Scotts Valley schools.”
The SVEF Board of Directors consisting of parents, teachers, school administrators and community members meets monthly to plan the major fundraising events they hold throughout the year. Timm says that, “the success of our local schools is a group effort. We have incredible teachers, but without the support of parents and the community, SVUSD would not be able to offer the variety of programs and maintain the standard of excellence that they strive to achieve year after year. We are fortunate to live in a community that recognizes the importance of education.”
The foundation begins the school year by asking for help directly from parents in the District (monetarily and a donation of time). Then, throughout the year, they hold several major fundraisers. The fundraising thrust of SVEF is four-fold: an annual Christmas Tree Lot, the Mt. Charlie Challenge (a 50k to 100 mile bicycling event through the Santa Cruz mountains), Music at Sky Park concerts, and a Community Partner Program that works in conjunction with local businesses to raise funds for the schools.
Adding an Endowment Fund
To bolster its ability to support education, SVEF established an endowment fund in 2009. The endowment is an invested fund, with the ultimate goal being to generate a significant amount of interest income that could be used to fund programs. While 2009 wasn’t a banner year for investments in the broader sense, it proved to be an excellent year to start an endowment.
Since February 2009, the SVEF Endowment has grown over 76% and today boasts an end balance of over $345,000! Each year, the Board of the Foundation approves a deposit that represents 15% of the funds raised during the fiscal year.
Once the fund grows to over $500,000, SVEF hopes there can be an annual draw to help the educators and students with items above and beyond the district’s budgets, i.e., keeping the school libraries open and student access to school counselors.
Scholarships now Awarded
In addition, last year SVEF established a memorial scholarship fund in honor of Lynn Beebe, a “long-time and much-loved Scotts Valley Unified School District staff member.” SVEF awarded the first two scholarships this year, which will help provide Scotts Valley High School students with “financial assistance to obtain professional counseling and guidance as they plan for acceptance into college.”
Result of Community Involvement — Distinguished Schools
This year both Scotts Valley Unified School District’s high school and middle school achieved the distinction of becoming California Distinguished Schools. On September 25, 2013, at the request of Supervisor Bruce McPherson, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors issued a proclamation recognizing statewide awards received in 2012 and congratulating the Scotts Valley Educational Foundation on thirty years of “dedicated support for Scotts Valley schools and students,” and the vital part SVEF plays in the success of Scotts Valley Schools. Congratulations! This community and especially all those who helped to achieve this, take a bow!
SVEF meets on the 4th Wednesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. at Bruno’s BBQ in Scotts Valley, and all are welcome.
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Thanks go to Derek Timm, President, Scotts Valley Educational Foundation, for help with this article. For more information, please go to www.SVEF.net or email at [email protected].