Parents Hand School District Multi-Million Dollar Check

Parents in Menlo Park and Atherton, California took public school funding into their own hands Tuesday, writing a check for $3.6 million to their local school district.

Parent Clint Chao told Patch he was very excited about handing the check to the Menlo Park City School District’s Board of Education. “The amount is a record,” Chao explained.  

Chao is also the co-president of the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation, which began in 1982 as a way to guarantee a high-quality education for children who attend the public schools in Menlo Park and Atherton.

“The grant helps fund the best classroom teachers and specialists, as well as library, art, music, and teaching innovation grants. I’m honored to be a part of a district community that comes together to make this possible,” he said.

The community of parents in Menlo Park is unique in its fundraising endeavors, organizing events throughout the year to meet aggressive goals that match the pace of increases in the district’s financial needs. More than 1,500 students, parents and administrators literally pounded the pavement in June to raise money for the schools during an event called the “are you in Run for education.”

The money from that event and others contributed to the record-setting check MPAEF members presented to Maurice Ghysels, superintendent of the Menlo Park City School District.   

“We are truly a community-funded district, relying on local sources to fund our schools, and the MPAEF is a crucial part of that equation,” Ghysels said. “The MPAEF grant will make up more than 10 percent of the district’s operating budget next school year and makes it possible to provide the education our community expects for all its children,” he said.

Last year, the MPAEF donated $3.35 million to the district to fill the gap left by dwindling state and federal resources, which now accounts for less than four percent of the school district’s funding.

Terry Thygesen, president of the MPCSD Board of Education, said that the money from the donations would be used to pay the salaries of 24 teachers and certificated employees, as well as fund other programs.

“The grant will enable us to maintain our commitment to employing highly qualified and inspired educators, retain comprehensive educational programs, and launch important new initiatives,” Thygesen said in a statement.   

In the past 10 years, the MPAEF has given more than $22 million to the district, which educates 2,791 students from kindergarden through eighth grade at four schools. The schools, which are named Laurel, Encinal, Oak Knoll, and Hillview, consistently exceed state-set Annual Performance Indicator goals. 

More than 85 percent of families in the district participated in the effort to donate money to the schools through the foundation. Chao was proud of that.

“Through the MPAEF grant we demonstrate that we can control our own destiny and provide our kids with the kind of education they deserve,” Chao said

The Menlo Park-Atherton Education foundation is a non-profit organization.