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Some school PTAs add hundreds of dollars per student

Part of a special report on education inequality in San Francisco. A version of this story ran in the winter 2014 print edition.

The San Francisco Unified School District aims to spend its funds equitably, not necessarily equally. That means giving more to schools with the highest needs, based on a complex formula. But in the past decade, parents at some schools have developed sophisticated fundraising operations to make up for years of tight districtwide budgets. The result: parents at a few schools are able to significantly supplement their children’s education, while most are not.

By the Numbers:

SFUSD Parent Fundraising

$113 million      The shortfall the San Francisco Unified School District faced in 2009-2010, the worst of five straight years of cuts. The gap between the district’s projected needs and the final budget last school year was only $13 million.

800%      The increase between 2002 and 2011 in spending by elementary school parent-teacher associations, to make up budget cuts. In 2011 the PTAs spent a total of $5.32 million.

$2,770,158      Total PTA fundraising in 2011 by the top 10 elementary schools. That was about half of what all 71 elementary school PTAs in the district took in.

63%      Portion of San Francisco elementary school students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

5      The number of schools where more than four-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch in 2000.

18      The number of schools where more than four-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch in 2012.

$42,643      The maximum income a family of four can earn to qualify for reduced-price lunch in California. (To qualify for free lunch, that family must earn less than $29,965.)

$47,340      The average annual rent for a two-bedroom apartment in San Francisco ($12,000 more than it was at the beginning of 2013).

District and PTA spending per student (graphic)

More Schools See Poverty Rise (graphic)

Free and reduced-price lunch rates (graphic)

Jeffrey Thorsby is a student of public policy at San Francisco State University and a business consultant to the Public Press.

Jason Winshell is a photojournalist and investigative reporter whose current focus is AI and technology policy. His four-decade career as software engineer informs his reporting. In 2010, his photography was nominated by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s SECA award, which recognizes the work of emerging artists in the Bay Area. His photo essay book, “Street,” documents every day life in San Francisco through 45 color photographs shot on the city’s streets.

Tom Guffey is director of design at the Public Press. He is also associate director of marketing & communications for the Downtown Oakland YMCA.

Justin is a freelance journalist and writer based in San Francisco. His work has been published in the San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Public Press.