Manhattan Beach Education Foundation
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Enrich and Empower MANHATTAN BEACH EDUCATION FOUNDATION Annual Report & Honor Roll A SALUTE TO OUR 2017-2018 DONORS Enrich and Empower “I love Fab Lab! I am able to use my imagination to create the things I want!” — Curran Hedges, Class of 2023, (far right) with Farrah Kamal, MBMS Fab Lab Teacher CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 THE MBEF DIFFERENCE 2 PUBLIC SCHOOL: WHY PRIVATE DOLLARS? 3-4 GRANT MAKING GUIDELINES 5-7 MBEF FUNDED PROGRAMS 8 ABOUT OUR GRANTS 9-16 IMPRESSIVE RESULTS 17 MBEF ENDOWMENT 18 MIRA COSTA HIGH SCHOOL: CLASS OF 2018 19-20 DONOR HONOR ROLL 21-53 MATCHING GIFT CONTRIBUTIONS 54 BUSINESS SPONSORS/REAL ESTATE PARTNERS 55 MANHATTAN WINE AUCTION 56-60 FALL CLASSIC GOLF TOURNAMENT 61 MBEF BOARD OF DIRECTORS 62 MISSION STATEMENTS 63 Every Child. Every Day. Over three decades ago, the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation (MBEF) was founded by a group of parents committed to strengthening our public schools. At a time when school funding was at an all-time low, private donations became imperative to providing a quality education for our children. Today is no different. Thirty-fi ve years later our public schools remain underfunded. To help fi ll this gap, MBEF continues to play a signifi cant role in supporting—in small or large part—nearly every academic pursuit and enrichment opportunity across our seven campuses. In the 2018/19 school year, MBEF will provide $6.2 million to our District to fund 75 educators and deliver a vast array of programs that enrich the educational experience of our students from kindergarten through graduation. We invite you to learn more about the specifi c programs MBEF funds in this Annual Report & Honor Roll—the programs that you helped prioritize and make possible. There is no question that our schools and students excel because we have an engaged community of parents, business leaders, educators and neighbors that are willing to invest in our children’s education and future. Our work together continues, year after year, as we strive to empower our students and enrich their academic lives, one child at a time. We are inspired by our community’s tremendous investment in our schools and look forward to partnering with you again for another school year. Thank you for your commitment and generosity. 1 THE MBEF DIFFERENCE $6.2 73% MILLION Percentage of overall donations that comes MBEF funding from parents to our schools in 2018/19 8% 75 Percentage of total MBEF pays for 75 educators District budget in grades K-12 that is funded by MBEF $70 91% MILLION Percentage of parents and teachers who believe MBEF is MBEF’s investment extremely important to maintaining in our schools since 1983 the quality of our schools These numbers only begin to convey the sheer magnitude of every child’s classroom experience because of your support of MBEF. Many of the programs and positions in our District would be eliminated if not for the generous support from our community. 2 PUBLIC SCHOOL: WHY PRIVATE DOLLARS? Unlike other states where counties decide how much to allocate to education, legal rulings in the 1980s shifted per-pupil funding to the state level in California. This signifi cantly impacted our District by limiting our ability to manage how property taxes would benefi t education. California education funding remains among the lowest in the country, and MBUSD is among the lowest in the state. MBEF is critical to sustaining the quality of our public schools. CALIFORNIA FUNDING FOR EDUCATION IS INADEQUATE Despite a $20 billion increase in K-12 spending since 2011, California continues to rank among the lowest in the nation in school funding. Education Week’s 2018 “Quality Counts” report recently ranked California as 42nd in per pupil funding, more than $3,000 below the national average. MBUSD will receive roughly $10,450 per pupil this year, putting our funding level at the BOTTOM of the state and the country. State funding alone does not meet our students’ needs, and without our community’s investment, our schools would lack many of the programs that contribute to a well-rounded education. MBUSD IS A REVENUE LIMIT DISTRICT Only a small portion of our property taxes in Manhattan Beach support education. The formula to allocate property tax dollars is based on spending levels in the 1970s. At that time, MBUSD was a K-8 district and allocated a small portion of property taxes to schools. As a result, MBUSD is a “Revenue Limit” district and does not retain property taxes. “Basic Aid” districts, such as Palo Alto, Laguna Beach and Beverly Hills, funded education at a higher level in the 70s, so they retain excess property taxes. Consequently, funding for Manhattan Beach schools is augmented by state aid to reach the guaranteed minimum level of funding per student. State Aid State Guaranteed Minimum Level State aid to meet Set % of revenue local limit property taxes Schools Set % of Local Keep Excess Property Taxes Property Taxes REVENUE LIMIT FUNDING BASIC AID FUNDING Manhattan Beach 3 OUR STUDENTS DO NOT QUALIFY FOR SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING In 2013 California implemented the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) to provide additional resources to public school districts with higher numbers of students who qualify for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program, are English Language Learners, and/or are foster youth. While LCFF has provided additional resources for districts with greater numbers of “high need” students, education funding remains inadequate for all students. Of ALL school districts in California, MBUSD has the LOWEST number of students who qualify for supplemental funding. LOCAL SUPPORT IS CRITICAL MBUSD is frequently compared to a short list of districts throughout California that have strong student outcomes. However, our per-pupil funding for education is very different from these other high performing districts. We are truly grateful for the community’s recent support of Measure MB, but the parcel tax alone cannot bridge the gap in school funding. Funding from the parcel tax, approximately $2.4 million annually, will help prevent teacher lay-offs due to increased expenses, including cost of living adjustments and pensions. Support of MBEF remains vital to continue the programs our parents expect, and our students need, to succeed. Both MBEF and local funding initiatives like the parcel tax are critical to sustaining the quality of our public schools. Data based on adopted budgets for the 2018/19 academic year and self-reported contributions of education foundations. 4 GRANT MAKING GUIDELINES Each year MBEF’s Board of Directors works with District leadership, school Principals, and teachers to identify programs that are most aligned with parent priorities and MBEF grant guidelines. To ensure continuity in our schools, the vast majority of our funding is committed to continuing successful grants and teaching positions. MBEF strives to invest in programs that: ★ Strengthen schools from kindergarten to graduation ★ Support academic excellence and personal growth ★ Reach as many students as possible ★ Maintain parity among all elementary schools ★ Provide innovation in teaching and learning ★ Align with District goals and the priorities of parents and teachers MEETING COMMUNITY PRIORITIES As a community driven organization, MBEF uses multiple measures to ensure that our grants refl ect parent and teacher priorities. We welcome feedback and survey our stakeholders biennially to help determine our strategic direction and assess priorities. The MBEF Executive Director and Board President participate in independent meetings with each school Principal on an annual basis to further assist in determining priorities. The MBEF Team also corresponds with stakeholders via phone calls, emails and meetings throughout the year. 5 2018 MBEF SURVEY – PARENTS AND TEACHERS Over 26% of parents and 60% of teachers responded to the 2018 MBEF Survey. Of those who responded, 91% of parents and teachers believe MBEF is “Extremely Important” to maintaining the quality of MBUSD public schools. In addition, 92% of parents and teachers are either “Very Satisfi ed” or “Somewhat Satisfi ed” with MBEF’s investments in our schools. While the number of satisfi ed supporters is encouraging, MBEF is challenged by limited funding to meet the needs of every stakeholder. Importance of MBEF to Quality of Schools Extremely Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Not Important Not Important At All 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% When asked to select the fi ve most important programs funded by MBEF, parents and teachers chose Class Size Reduction, Music Educators, Library Specialists, Physical Education Teachers and College and Career Counselors. These were also the same programs that were selected as the most benefi cial to students. These priorities are consistent with past MBEF Surveys and MBEF directs a large portion of funding towards these initiatives. Class Size Reduction continues to be top priority for parents and teachers should additional funding become available. For the 2018/19 school year, MBEF is able to increase funding towards Class Size Reduction (CSR) by 16% districtwide while still sustaining other stakeholder priorities. A signifi cant amount of additional funding would be required to reduce class sizes to the levels proven to have a dramatic impact on classroom learning. GRANT APPROVAL The MBEF Grant Committee, comprised of 8 MBEF Board Members from all school sites, holds multiple meetings, including several with the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Education Services, prior to the approval of all grants. During these meetings, priorities are discussed and potential programmatic solutions are proposed. 6 Once determined that the proposed grants are feasible and meet District goals, the Grant Committee takes the proposed grants to the MBEF Board of Directors for approval. Throughout the academic year, MBEF leaders meet monthly with the Superintendent to ensure that the funds we grant are appropriately and effectively used and MBEF programs are meeting expectations.