The Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation recently announced a new city-wide campaign to raise $1 million in funds for the schools’ 2010-2011 academic year, starting April 8 with a target completion of Aug. 1.
The Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization that raises private money for the Ann Arbor Public Schools.
The announcement came just two weeks after the district’s administration spent more than seven hours laying out the best/worst case 2010-2011 budget scenario to the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education. Depending on the final cut in per-pupil funding from the state of Michigan, the AAPS school district could face as much as $20 million in cuts from next year’s budget.
Foundation Executive Director Wendy Correll explained in a news release that the campaign’s title refers to “one million reasons to support Ann Arbor Public Schools.” Donors will be able to post their reasons for supporting the schools on the Educational Foundation’s Web site.
“We know that the citizens of Ann Arbor have always supported public education, well above the national average. We believe that concerned community members, parents, grandparents, foundations, corporations and citizens of the greater Ann Arbor area will take part in this campaign. But it will take a lot of work – and generous participation by all of us,” said Correll.
The November defeat of the school millage gave impetus to those who had voted for it to examine what they would have paid in taxes, based on their property’s taxable value, and use that dollar figure as their guide for a tax-deductible contribution to the Educational Foundation. The Educational Foundation received more than $30,000 in contributions directly following the millage defeat. For information about suggested donations based on the taxable value of property, visit the Foundation’s Web site at www.aapsef.org.
According to Correll, “Parents who have a child in our schools may be interested to know that the one million dollar goal set by the Educational Foundation is an average of $60 per student per year, or about $5 per month. We are asking that families who can make a gift also consider giving on behalf of those who cannot.”
Donations to the “One Million Reasons” Campaign can be made online by visiting the Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation Web site at www.supportannarborschools.org, or by sending a check payable to AAPSEF to 2555 S. State Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104. Contributors can also arrange for a scheduled draft from their checking or credit card accounts by contacting Foundation staff at 734-994-1969 to complete the necessary forms.
For a list of frequently asked questions about the “One Million Reasons” Campaign, see http://www.aapsef.org/faq/1million_faq.pdf.
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