Fair Share program prevents drastic cuts

School districts across the state are facing hardship as the California budget crisis continues to frustrate lawmakers. The current economic situation has already put strains on our own school district, seen earlier this year in the abnormally tense negotiations process between the district and the Teachers’ Union over healthcare, which eventually led to secretive mediation sessions.

According to the Aragon Fair Share Plan (AFSP) Q & A flier, due to the budget crisis, “the state has asked all the basic aid school districts to send them money.”

According to the 2010-2011 AFSP Letter, “[f]or the 2010 – 2011 school year, the San Mateo Union High School District is facing unprecedented demands from Sacramento. Potentially, [the] district may be required to send anywhere from $6.3 to $7.6 million to Sacramento which may mean additional budget cuts at Aragon.”

To face these challenges, the AFSP, Aragon High School’s only annual academic fundraiser, is asking for increased donations of $550 per student, up from $500 last year.

Last year, the AFSP was a success, with over 500 Aragon families raising over $340,000. The money from the AFSP funds a variety of services at Aragon. In March, the AFSP lead chairs Melissa Lee, Sharman Blood, Judy Kwee, Stephanie Moy and Dennis Tom held a meeting with Aragon Principal Patricia Kurtz to discuss what things in the upcoming year would be affected by cuts to district fund.

According to the lead chairs, notable items this year that were funded through AFSP include new clickers that can be utilized in interactive classroom lectures, more Smart Boards and science lab materials for the science courses.

In addition, money from the AFSP is funding numerous beneficial services such as extra librarian hours to help students before and after school, a school safety advocate who serves high-risk students, an extra counselor and administrative aide to help teachers prep classes and after school tutoring in various subjects.

While some families may have trouble donating to the Aragon Fair Share Program because of financial difficulties, the lead chairs reiterated, “the AFSP amount is only a suggestion. We ask that each Aragon family support AFSP in the way that is comfortable for them. Unfortunately due to the dire State budget and the decrease in property tax revenue, AFSP is the solution in bridging the gap to avoid any cuts at Aragon … We understand that during these trying economic times, not all families are able to contribute the suggested amount. Some families have opted to contribute less than the suggested amount in two to three payments because they want to support AFSP, so truly any amount is welcome.”

Junior Paul Gonzalez says, “I think that the Aragon Fair Share Program is really beneficial to our school. Unfortunately, my family didn’t have the money to donate money for the program. I want to thank the people that did give money to the program, and also thank those that gave even more than the suggested amount—that’s even more helpful. Their contributions really help those who can’t afford to donate, since we all get better supplies for our education.”

Despite the tenuous state of the economy, “25 percent of [Aragon’s] donor families contributed more than Fair Share” last year, according to the AFSP Q & A flier.

According to the AFSP lead chairs, without the help of Aragon families, “teachers would have less time to plan their lessons. Students would have less class selection and decreased Library access. Assistance in areas such as tutoring and counseling would be reduced. All school departments would be requesting donations directly from families to pay for all the essential resources and materials needed to teach the students that are not covered by the district.”

The goals of this year’s Aragon Fair Share campaign are simple. According to the AFSP lead chairs, “our primary goal is to receive 100% participation.”

The second goal for this year’s Fair Share campaign is to raise $350,000, compared to last year’s figure of $340,000.

Lead chair Melissa Lee remains optimistic about this year’s donation figures, saying, “We potentially have a good chance in reaching our goal this year. This year we have received about $342,000 so far.”