Operating Principles

PEF has a mission that demands we achieve—and sustain—the very highest level of the public trust. With that in mind, we formulated the following Operating Principles to guide our actions

Communications with Pacifica School District

PEF is a community-based organization, wholly independent of the Pacifica School District. The PEF mission is to support the education of Pacifica's children attending public school in the Pacifica School District in alignment with District efforts. PEF will name and maintain at least one Board Member as PSD liaison to ensure alignment is maintained with PSD priorities, activities across the District and individual sites.

Board Composition

PEF will strive to develop and maintain parent Board Members representing the six PSD schools educating the majority of Pacifica elementary and middle school students: Cabrillo, Ingrid B. Lacey, Ocean Shore, Ortega, Sunset Ridge and Vallemar. In addition to site representation, PEF seeks to maintain representation from members of the Pacifica community interested in promoting the educational agenda. To meet our current Board of Directors, click here.

Stewardship

We will manage our resources in a responsible manner, maximizing our ability to advance the mission of the organization. We will maintain accurate financial records and report our financial results in an accurate and timely manner. We will be honest and faithful fiduciaries and protect the funds entrusted to us.

Transparency

We will be open and candid about our activities and operations. We will publish and widely disseminate an annual report that will convey information to the public in at least seven critical areas: 1) a list of current board members and 2) the PEF mission, goals, and operating principles; 3) the central governance structure and mechanisms of the organization; 4) the organization’s programmatic activities and achievements; 5) financial statements; 6) a list of major donors with appropriate anonymous citations when so requested; and 7) a fundraising section, which includes campaign revenues, overhead costs—including how costs are recovered, and any fee arrangements. We will provide members of the public who express an interest in the affairs of the organization with a meaningful opportunity to communicate with an appropriate representative. We will make available for public inspection a copy of its annual report and its most recent IRS Form 990 filings, as well as a copy of its exempt status application.

Compliance

We will comply with federal, state, and local laws.

Privacy Policy

We will justify the reliance that donors have in our ability to utilize and manage information with the highest degree of confidentiality by ensuring that our computer and management information systems are protected from unauthorized use. We will respect the privacy of donors and safeguard the confidentiality of information that a donor reasonably would expect to be private and provide an option for our donors to opt-out of public recognition of their donations. We will respect the wishes of donors that may prefer to remain anonymous and not publicly release the names of anonymous donors, their addresses, or amounts of their gifts, unless required to do so by law.

Internal Operations

The Board determines initiatives, goals, structure and timelines for each committee's operations. The Board President is copied on all committee correspondence. The Board President can sit on any committee ex officio. Committees will provide interim updates on initiatives at the Board’s discretion. Committees will not enter in any contractual obligations on behalf of the Board. While we will fully and candidly discuss issues entrusted to us and respect others’ viewpoint, Board Members will fully respect the effort of the committees to develop recommendations. We will honor the democratic process and support the final decisions of the Board — even if we may disagree with them.