Good news came to the school board last month in the form of a giant ceremonial check from the Pleasanton Partnerships in Education (PPIE) Foundation.
“This donation is a true example of what partnerships can do,” said Bob Miller, president of the PPIE board, as he presented the school district with a bankable check for $551,000.
Of that gift, $80,000 came from the Fun Run for Education that PPIE sponsored earlier in April.
“Sometimes people forget how giving this community is,” said Superintendent Parvin Ahmadi. “The Pleasanton Unified School District has faced tremendous budget cuts for several years. Although we are grateful for a more stable state budget under the new funding model, the Local Control Funding Formula at its full implementation in 2020-21 will still not provide adequate funding for education.”
“We are truly grateful for the support we have received from the community through the tremendous efforts by PPIE each year,” she added. “In addition to supporting the Giving Fund through this year’s PPIE fundraising campaign, parents continue to support their schools through each school’s parent organizations.”
Ahmadi thanked Miller and PPIE vice president Kelly French, who organized the second annual Fun Run, which attracted 1,000 more participants this year and raised $22,000 more than the first run.
The superintendent also thanked Susan Hayes, the executive director of PPIE, for the fundraisers that augmented the Giving Fund to make PPIE’s full wish list a reality.
The PPIE donation will help in the following specific ways.
At the elementary schools, class size for transitional kindergarten and kindergarten will be reduced to a ratio of 28-to-1 and a Chromebook will be purchased for each of the 230 classrooms.
Middle schools will divide $95,000 on a per-pupil basis, with bonus amounts of $1,500-$5,000 based on each school’s participation. Amador Valley and Foothill high schools will divide $68,500 on a per-pupil basis, with the same kinds of participation bonuses, and Village/Horizon alternative high schools will receive $5,000.
The four special needs preschool classrooms will receive $500 each. In addition, the entire district will benefit by the hiring of an additional technology instructional coach at $90,000.
The amount disbursed April 22 did not include PPIE grants to students and teachers, which soon will be announced.
