Good afternoon Penny Road families!

As we are in the midst of supporting our fantastic PTA with the PANDAmonium fundraiser, I wanted to share a few facts about public school budgets that may help you to see the positive impact that any donation can make on our school.

Schools are allotted funding for classroom materials, instructional supplies, and equipment based on student enrollment.  That funding is equal to $65 per year per student, a number that has remained unchanged for as long as I can remember, despite the increased cost of pretty much everything.  That brings the total funding that Penny Road receives each year to just over $30,000.  Half of that money is spent on just the costs of the copy machines and the paper they use.  That leaves us with limited funds for all of the other items that are basic needs in order to make the school day possible.

Without the support of the PTA, there would be no funds for all the extra things that make Penny Road such an amazing place to work and learn.  Classroom teachers would have no funds available to prepare and personalize their rooms at the start of the year.  Students wouldn’t have phenomenal opportunities to broaden their horizons with cultural arts.  We wouldn’t be able to incorporate rich technology tools that support the foundations of research and learning about the application of grade level content.  Grade levels wouldn’t be able to purchase hands-on tools to support learning. The PTA supports our school in these and so many other ways!

Instead of using an outside company that would take a cut of the profits, the PTA has organized this PANDAmonium fundraiser themselves to ensure that every dollar that is donated comes directly to our school.  We would exceed our fundraising goal if every student were to gather $100 in donations.  The money doesn’t have to come from parents.  We encourage the involvement of as many community members as possible, including companies, Penny Road alumni, neighbors, etc.  If the PTA meets their goal with this fundraiser, it will be the only one this school year and a portion of the funds will be utilized to bring coding resources to the Media Center to be utilized by all grade levels.

We greatly appreciate the many ways that each of you support us here at Penny Road!  For the many who have already contributed and to those who have not yet had a chance, we thank you.  You can monitor progress toward our goal and/or contribute here.

Have a great day!
Jill