Editorial

Money doesn’t grow on trees. School districts are well aware of this

as the state has made sure of it.

So school districts sometimes have to find other means of funding.

Sometimes, car washes do the trick. Grants can come in handy. Parents and

teachers associations can help fill in a few other gaps through booster

clubs and fund-raisers.

Foundations, which these days are heavily relied upon, are created to

bring in additional funding.

But is there ever enough money to go around? Will every program, class

or teacher ever be satisfied when it comes to funding? There is always a

financial need at schools.

Newport Harbor High School proves no exception, and its foundation

recently asked some affluent parents to chip in $5,000 annually over a

five-year period. That way, the school can raise at least $500,000 to

better fund some programs and prevent its students from instead opting to

attend private schools.

It’s always wonderful when a school can add more funding to its

coffers, but where will it end?

More importantly, however, is what can other Newport-Mesa Unified high

schools, whose constituents don’t have an extra $25,000 lying around, do

to provide their students with the same benefits that Newport Harbor

does?

We think the answer is spread the wealth.

A districtwide schools foundation for the elementary level already

exists.

We believe creating a foundation for the district’s high schools, and

throwing the money into a pot to be distributed between each of those

schools, would also be a good move.

Since this might upset many generous parents who would rather see

their entire contribution go directly to their respective school, we

suggest a compromise.

Take a little off the top -- say 10%, or $2,500 per $25,000 donation

-- and send it to the donor’s school, in this case Newport Harbor. Then,

distribute the remaining $22,500 between all the high schools. The

compromise may differ slightly and instead send 15% to 20% of the money

to the donor’s school before dividing it up.

Or perhaps all the district’s schools should be included in the mix,

and the money should be given to the Newport-Mesa Schools Foundation.

In any case, it has become obvious throughout the nation that

“separate but equal” does not apply to schools. Few schools have

identical budgets. It’s just a fact of life that isn’t going to be

corrected any time soon.

But donors can do their part in providing the opportunity for schools

to become that much closer to equality, at least fiscally. Might Newport

Harbor still have a larger foundation budget than Estancia High School?

Unfortunately, yes. Might Estancia be better off than it was before? Yes,

and all for the better.

All parents want their students to be better off than the next, but do

those same parents and students want to live in a society where many

students were not even afforded the chance to succeed?

Imagine the consequences.

Make a difference. Make generosity generous. It’s only for the better.