Issue

Private support for public schools is welcome. The important question is not whether to use private funds, but how. They should not be used to replace public dollars.Replacing public tax dollars with private resources has three very troublesome effects. First, it worsens the disparity between rich and poor children because there is not enough private money to go around. Second, there is no public accountability for private dollars. While public dollars are subject to public scrutiny, private dollars are subject to donors' whims, potentially leaving schools in the lurch or in a "take-it-or-leave-it" mode. Third, and most important, private fundraising allows Americans to believe that public education—a critical structural element of our democracy—is an individually chosen charitable activity, rather than a collective public responsibility. This is a threat not just to public education, but to our democracy.Our network of Local Education Funds uses private dollars to create badly needed bridges between school systems and the public, to re-engage communities in support of public education. They conduct community forums, spearhead school system strategic planning, support school board development, translate school budgets into lay terms, and convene diverse community groups. These activities use private dollars to attack the underlying cause of funding cuts—lack of support for public education—rather than putting a Band-Aid over them.—Amanda Broun directs the Center for Policy and Program, Public Education Fund Network, in Washington, D.C.

Further regulation of education funding, with the intent of keeping funding relatively equal between "rich" and "poor" schools, conflicts with the concept of local control of public schools and the need to motivate individual teachers, schools, and districts to continually strive for excellence. Although legislatures must ensure that public funds are allocated in a fair and equitable manner to all schools, they should not interfere in private funding decisions. Local schools should be allowed to make decisions regarding supplemental funding from private sources or from locally-generated public funds.Restricting access to private funds would significantly diminish an important source of educational research and innovation in our schools. Any individual teacher, school, or district, rich or poor, that has the dream, desire, and determination to aggressively pursue grants, local levies, fundraising, or even school-oriented foundations, should not be prevented from doing so. These districts are often home to some of the most enterprising and forward-looking professionals, who are inventing and piloting techniques and programs that will become commonplace in schools in the future.—Stephen Foster is principal of North Tama Elementary School in Traer, Iowa.

Yes. Eastwood Elementary School is located in the third-poorest county in Michigan. Our district resources are at the state average and are barely adequate for our regular programs. When staff members identified new school improvement goals, I went out and found the money to fund our initiatives.We first received a restructuring grant for $36,000 from the state department of education. The grant was renewed for a second year at $20,000—not enough to continue our programs. We then turned to the Kellogg Foundation, which awarded us three one-year grants totaling $202,000. With these funds, we were able to hire additional staff members to develop an award-winning Family/School Program and construct a broad-based Community Coalition. We've also been able to contribute time and funds to a countywide, multi-agency effort to assist at-risk families, from whom we draw 70 percent of our student population.While the fundraising we do requires much time and emotional energy, once you develop the dependency on extra funds, you must keep them flowing. The results are worth the effort. Our students will reap benefits that will accrue long beyond the end of the outside funding.—David Borth is principal of Eastwood Elementary School in Big Rapids, Mich. He has been recognized as a National Distinguished Principal and as Michigan Principal of the Year.

There are roles for private dollars in public schools. Private dollars can finance special projects and pilot programs not supported by tax dollars. Foundations are often willing to take financial risks when they believe the programs they support can improve schools.Several developments should make us very nervous, however.One is a growing reliance on privately-generated revenue to support what many consider basic resources for schools: computer hardware and software, books and periodicals, and professional development activities for staff. Using private funds to support the basic enterprise of public schooling raises serious issues about the design and performance of our school finance systems.Second—and more troubling—is the school-level variations in private dollars. Intra-district resource disparities are now very common, and a relatively small increment in private funds can produce tangible differences in educational opportunity. This is where thoughtful policies regarding distributions to schools matter. How well the boards of these education foundations monitor and counteract the natural abilities of some schools to raise more money than others will determine whether private fundraising is good for public schools.When private fundraising serves all children, it is probably a good thing. When many children are left out and when the opportunities they miss are essential to a quality education, these private dollars are a problem indeed.—Kent McGuire is the program officer for education at the Pew Charitable Trusts, Philadelphia, Pa.