What is the purpose of the Pacifica Education Foundation?

The Pacifica Education Foundation (PEF) is a non-profit organization founded in 2008 by community volunteers committed to protecting and advancing quality education for the children of the Pacifica School District (PSD). PEF's community-based, 100% volunteer run organization rallies and maintains both local and external support for our schools through fund-raising and grant-writing programs. With the support of community members, parents, educators, local businesses and larger philanthropic and corporate giving programs, PEF seeks to raise and manage funds to establish long-range, meaningful educational programs that supplement instruction and support core curriculum for all of Pacifica's K-8 schools.

Why should I support PEF?

Three great reasons:

First, our schools need additional funding to produce well-educated future citizens to support our local and national economy and they've proven they can do a lot with a little. PSD ranks well in test scores at #10 in San Mateo County, the six schools in the district are among the lowest funded and have a higher student-to-teacher ratio than most others across the 23 districts in San Mateo County.

Second, by supporting PEF with your financial contributions, or volunteer time, you will help provide essential educational programs that will not receive funding through other sources.

Third, PEF is taking a smart, long-term approach; PEF's strategy is to pair sustainable, local fund-raising campaigns that demonstrate the commitment of our community to education with a well-organized, ongoing grant writing effort to secure supplemental funding for PEF-sponsored initiatives from institutions outside Pacifica that support elementary education.

What is the 21st Century Learning Skills Initiative and why is it PEF's first program?

Following extensive consultation with individuals across PSD as well as parents and community members, PEF selected 21st Century Learning Skills as its first program because it fits all our basic selection criteria and serves an acute education gap that is unlikely to be funded through any other source. Today in PSD, there is no standard approach to the use of technology in the classroom or expectation of mastery within grade levels. There are no guidelines and little support for our teachers or volunteer staff for using technology to teach. Yet, our society operates with technology as an integral part of business, academia, government and home life. PEF believes that in addition to traditional pen and paper, our students need and deserve the same opportunities as children in wealthier districts to learn and use 21st Century technologies as a part of their educational experience.

With that in mind, PEF funded the 21st Century Learning Skills initiative to hire a credentialed teacher for a minimum of 2 years to operate at the District level. Their role is to first assess our technology status and needs across all schools and grade levels, identify near-term opportunities to improve technology usage for educational impact, and over time, develop a program to bring technology into our classrooms in a manner that is effective and appropriate to each grade level. For students and teachers, this means using technology as a tool as they gather and analyze data, discover applied mathematics, explore the sciences and communicate within classrooms and across networks in our school and Districts. A successful 21st Century Learning Skills initiative will enable students to further develop their critical thinking, problem solving, communications and presentation skills using computing and communications technology in a manner that prepares them for higher education and the global workplace of the 21st Century.

How will my money be used?

Funds will be used to support sustainable, long-term initiatives that will supplement instruction; support core curriculum; promote education in science, technology, math and select enrichment and support programs. Beginning in 2010, PEF's first program, 21st Century Learning Skills, is a 2 year minimum commitment to fund a District employee charter to integrate technology into our classroom curriculums and support our teachers and school volumteers in teaching Pacifica children critical thinking, problem-solving and communications in a modern, 21st century context.

Public school is supposed to be free. Why do I have to pay?

You certainly don't have to pay for a public education. However, communities that want good schools are almost universally providing local funding through parcel taxes and educational foundations such as PEF. The alternative is leaving the funding of our children's educations in the hands of the state, which continues to cut funding, leaving our schools below the bare minimum in resources. Thirty years ago California passed Proposition 13, which dramatically changed the way out state's schools were financed. At that time, per pupil spending in California ranked among the top five states in the nation. Today, when adjusted for the cost of living, California ranks 46th in the nation in per pupil spending. The truth is that our state's revenue has not kept pace with an increased student population and increased costs, thus making public education one of many under-funded state programs.

Is Pacifica the only district with an education foundation?

No. There are over 20 education foundations within San Mateo County alone in response to the dire need for increased school funding.

How does the Foundation decide where the money will be used?

The Pacifica Education Foundation (PEF) allocates funds to programs selected by the PEF Board based on input from PEF Board members, parent and community volunteers and Pacifica School District representatives. These programs must meet the following basic criteria:

  • Support the Pacifica School District strategic plan
  • Promote equitable education across district schools
  • Align with PEF budget and funding constraints
  • Represent programs that will be attractive to outside educational funding sources

In addition, recommended programs are evaluated against the following criteria:

  • Addresses a broad or acute educational gap
  • Reaches a significant portion of student or faculty population
  • Potential for significant impact in improving test scores or other assessments
  • Promotes volunteer efforts across schools
  • Encourages student engagement and love for learning

Click here for more information on how we select our educational priorities.

How is the Foundation's money managed and invested?

Funds are invested in safe, FDIC-insured securities that earn interest. Funds received by the Foundation are allocated to three categories:

  • General funds which may be used for any education or operational purpose approved by the Pacifica Education Foundation (PEF) board
  • Designated funds which will only be invested if certain criterion have been met for their use
  • At some future date, PEF hopes to raise endowment funds whose principal will be invested permanently while the interest can be used to fund educational programs

    • Click here for more information on how we select our PEF is managed.

How much money does the Foundation need to raise each year?

The initial PEF fund raising campaign, completed in June of 2010, raised $250,000 to fund one sustainable program for a minimum of two years. Going forward, PEF seeks to raise a minimum of $150,000 per year in commumity donations and plans to begin seeking grants and corporate donations in 2010-2011. With this level of funding, PEF can make a meaningful impact by funding an accredited teacher as a District-level lead/coac to support all the schools in disciplines required for 21st Century skills. As the Foundation and community have a track record of support for Pacifica's schools and can demonstrate the benefits of that support, PEF believes it may be possible to increase annual fund-raising via local donations and external grants to $250,000-$300,000 ecah year to fund additional programs.

$150,000 is a lot of money; how will you raise that much every year in Pacifica?

Raising this much money is no small feat, but Pacifica has shown it cares about its schools. Together, we can raise this amount every year through the generosity of our community. In our initial fund-raising, PEF enlisted more than 60 families and community members willing to serve as Patrons and contribute larger sums of money while reaching out to the broader community to donate at smaller Membership levels. PEF also holds volunteer-run fundraising events to raise additional funds and to help rally the community for Pacifica's schools. With continued support from our Patrons, Members and event-goers, our fund-raising will be sustainable for years to come.

Will you try to raise money from outside of Pacifica? Why don't you find grants and corporations to fund the Foundation?

We initiated a Grants Committee in June of 2010 and hope to win our first grants in 2011. Unfortunately, most corporations and large not-for-profits do no donate to organizations without a proven base of support and track record of success. Therefore, PEF started by raising money from inside Pacifica to prove to ourselves and the rest of Silicon Valley that Pacifica residents support their schools and are committed to making an impact. With our initial program funded and a base of local supporters in place, we are now poised to seek outside grants and hope that over time, grants will provide up to 1/3 of our annual funding.

How much will go directly to the schools versus into an endowment?

Initially 100% of the funds raised will go to programs that address an important educational gap while furthering our ability to raise sustainable funding from outside sources or to specific initiatives that help to mitigate budget cuts incurred by state and federal funding decreases. Once these initial programs are established and successful, the Pacifica Education Foundation plans to begin fund-raising to build an endowment. An endowment is a long-term goal and efforts to form on are unlikely to be launched until 2012 or later.

Who else is donating?

The Pacifica Education Foundation (PEF) is enlisting a group of Founding Patrons willing to donate $1,000 or more annually prior to July of 2010. Going forward, we will continue to recruit annual Patrons to donate $1,000-$20,000 or more. In addition, PEF calls on the broader community for smaller donations to match the Parton dollars at a current level of %50, in other words, one community dollar will be matched with up to two Patron dollars in order to sustain our first program, 21st Century Learning Skills. With a core group of large contributors and many smaller contributions, PEF can raise the funds and help rally the entire community to support our schools.

Click here for more information on the PEF Patrons, Partners and Members.

Who supports the Pacifica Education Foundation (PEF)?

PEF is supported by parents, community volunteers, local businesses, educators and members of the Pacifica School District board. PEF is working closely with all these groups to ensure that the initiatives it supports are aligned with the Pacifica School District's strategic plan and will ensure the children of Pacifica a quality education.

Click here for more information on the PEF Patrons, Partners and Members.

How is the Pacifica Education Foundation staffed? Is anyone paid a salary?

Currently PEF is run by 100% volunteer efforts. No one is paid a salary or compensated for his/her efforts. In fact, many of the day-to-day expenses of PEF are also donated by volunteers and members of the Board. However, as PEF grows, it may be necessary to hire some administrative support for things such as bookkeeping, mailings and other administrative duties if we cannot find pro bono support.

Click here for more information on the PEF Team.

How do you work with the schools and school district?

PEF hosts monthly meetings for the Foundation board and encourages attendance from Pacifica School District representatives, teachers, Parent-Teacher-Organization representatives and community members. Anyone is invited to attend these meetings. At these meetings, PEF's alignment with the Pacifica School District's strategic plan is discussed as well as planning and updates on the efforts that PEF is making to provide enhanced educational support in our community.

Click here for more information on how we select our educational priorities.

Will the money be divided equally among the schools?

The money will be dedicated to specific programs that will benefit all the schools of Pacifica. For instance, the first initiative identified for sustained funding is 21st Century Learning Skills. This program will fund the employment of a district-wide coach, chartered to teach our teachers and classroom volunteers how to integrate 21st Century skills into our children's daily classroom curriculum; skills such as online data gathering, evaluation, data computation and analysis and the communication and presentation of information using modern technologies. This program will teach our teachers how to give our children experience learning and working in the classroom in a manner consistent with the demands of higher education and 21st Century careers.

Click here for more information on PEF Educational Priorities.

Can I direct my donation to a specific school or program?

PEF offers two choices to direct your donations:

  • 100% of Donation to Sustainable Funding Initiatives - Your donation will be applied to supporting initiatives that fill an essential educational gap in Pacifica and provide PEF a platform for developing funding through educational grants, corporate giving programs and other philanthropic organizations. PEF's first sustainable funding initiative is 21st Century Learning Skills, a program to support and train classroom teachers to integrate 21st Century skills into our classroom learning environments.
  • Maximum Donation to Budget Crisis Mitigation Initiatives - The majority of your donation will be applied to initiatives identified by PEF in close consultation with PSD leadership that mitigate immediate District budget shortfalls caused by local, state or federal funding deficits. The specific-percent contribution applied to budget shortfalls in any given year is set annually by the PEF Board. For the school years ending in 2011, 80% or more of your donation will be applied budget shortfalls.[Note: 100% of funds directed to Budget Crisis Mitigation were donated to PSD in 2010]

If you do not specify a direction, 100% of your funding will be treated as an unrestricted donation. In this case, your donation will be applied to supporting initiatives based on need as determined by PEF leadership.

Click here for more information on Donations.

Should I still donate to my child's school PTO/PTA?

Yes. You should still donate to your child's school to support their specific programs and initiatives. In addition, we encourage you to support the Pacifica Education Foundation (PEF) to support programs that are long-range and difficult for individual schools to implement. By working at the district level, PEF can achieve scale and effeciencies and provide higher levels of support than individual schools can achieve independently. Your support of PEF funds programs benefit all of Pacifica's schools, ensuring all children in Pacifica public schools a quality education and help to vitalize their community.

Isn't the Parcel Tax (Measure N) sufficient to support our schools?

Unfortunately, no. The Parcel Tax passed in 2008 under Measure N raises approximately $1,000,000 for our schools annually. Over the past nine years, the PSD budget was cut by more than $2.5 million dollars and projections are that more will be cut as the state's budget crisis continues. While it was originally envisioned that the Parcel Tax money would enhance education in our schools, it turned into a lifeline to minimizing the damage of mounting State funding cuts. Without the Parcel Tax, our schools would be in dire circumstances. In order for our schools to provide a quality education and remain competitive, the schools need more financial support than is currently available, even with the Parcel Tax.

Click here for more information on School Funding Issues.

How well do Pacifica schools perform? In what areas could they use more help?

The Pacifica School District ranks #10 in test scores out of the 23 districts in San Mateo County. However, the District revenue per student ranks among the lowest of the County's school districts. Pacifica's schools have performed well due to the leadership of our school administration and school board and a passionate base of community and parent volunteers. However, student-to-teacher ratios are high and getting higher with the recent cuts, resources are low and dropping with the recession, and most of our schools struggle to provide anything but the basic curriculum. In fact, most of our science, art, music, physical education and enrichment programs are provided through volunteer efforts, without professional teacher training or continuity year over year. For our children to receive an education that will position them to compete in a global economy, our schools need additional core educational programs and community financial support.

Click here for more information on our schools performance.

How do Pacifica schools' funding compare to other California/Bay Area schools?

Pacifica schools are among the lowest funded schools in San Mateo County. Pacifica does not have the property values or the business base to generate taxes that most other communities possess, and thus does not receive similar funding. Furthermore, some school districts have multiple parcel taxes in place in addition to significant community funding drives that provide adequate support for their schools.

Click here for more information on School Funding Issues.

How do Pacifica schools' performance compare to other California/Bay Area schools?

Pacifica schools rank in the top 20% of San Mateo and Santa Clara schools.

Click here for more information on our schools performance.

I don't have kids in the Pacifica School District. How does this apply to me?

A community with good schools is often a better place to live. There is a strong correlation between property values and quality of public schools. By supporting our schools, you help to strengthen the Pacifica community and help vitalize our community. You also help to ensure that every child of Pacifica will learn the necessary skills to be competitive in our global and local economies.

Why does the Pacifica Education Foundation only support grades K-8? What about the high schools?

To date, PEF supports the Pacifica School District, which runs Pacifica's K-8 schools. The high schools are managed by the Jefferson Union School District, which spans Pacifica and Daly City. Our mission is to first support Pacifica and the Pacifica School District. Longer-term, we would like to support, or help found another foundation to support, Pacifica's high schools.

How much of the funding will go to the schools versus foundation overhead?

Initially, all of the funds are going to the schools with the exception of minor administrative costs such as website hosting, stationary, bank account fees, accounting fees and fund-raising event expenses. PEF is fortunate to have a base of committed supporters that underwrite many of its expenses and provide 100% of its labor through community volunteers. In the future, we may need to hire additional administrative support like other foundations do.

How do I find out more about PEF's financial status?

We believe in transparency. Anyone is welcome to attend our monthly board meetings. in addition, we produce an Annual Report to share with the community. To see how we are governed and learn more about our annual reporting, please click here.

Is my donation tax deductible? What is PEF's Tax ID #?

The Pacifica Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are 100% tax deductible (excluding special events, which may be partially tax deductible). Please check with your employer to see if they will match your donation. PEF's Federal Tax ID# is 91-2145686.

Do you take stock donations?

Yes, stock donations can be accepted.

How can I help?

PEF would be greatly appreciative of your financial donations and your time. Since we try to direct all donations into District programs, we need volunteers for everything from small tasks to large projects across many areas, including administrative, operational and marketing. Other opportunities to help include participating in fundraising efforts, membership drives, recruiting participation within and across school sites and support for operational needs including correspondence, accounting/bookkeeping, website management, data entry more. Please send us an email to volunteer@pacificaef.org to let us know your skills and interests and we'll contact you to get involved!