Carl Sandburg parents work to fund kids' after-school programs

Parents at Carl Sandburg Middle School in Golden Valley are turning to a tried and true measure for when districts can't deliver the services they want: They're raising the money themselves.

As a partial remedy to a $5 million shortfall anticipated for the 2008-2009 school year, after-school activities have been eliminated at all three of the district's middle schools. Those activities, which have occupied the sixth- through eighth-grade students until 5 p.m. each school day, have included seasonal athletics, as well as arts and performance opportunities and extracurricular enrichment, such as chess club, debate, fall play, musical, newspaper and more. Almost half of Sandburg students participate in this year's program.

"I think it's the age that kids start testing their grounds," said parent organizer Ruth Coryell. "So many parents work now, and it gives them the option of doing something after school that's important, rather than going out and getting into trouble."

The fundraising goal is $80,000 to restore all the traditional programs. Even if the fundraising goals are met, the programs will all end at 4:15 p.m., rather than 5, to save on busing costs and adviser/coach salaries.

Parent fundraising to make up for district shortfalls is becoming more common, said national PTA spokesman James Martinez.

"Every year more schools and teachers and districts are asked to do more and more with less and less," he said. "You can't blame the parents for wanting to raise money to give their children more of a value or a better education, but it definitely is becoming more common. We try to go at it from both ways, not just raising money for those kinds of programs that schools are cutting as an effect of budget cuts, but advocating at a state and national level for appropriate education funding."

'A chance to try'

"It just gives a kid a chance to try," she said. "Maybe they won't like it, but they can try something else. I think it would be sad for them to miss out on that."

Students do pay fees to participate in after-school activities; students who qualify for free and reduced lunch -- nearly half of the student body -- do so at a discounted rate.

After it became apparent that parents from the three middle schools diverged in their ideas of how private money should be spent, Sandburg parents struck out on their own in January. Right now parents are focusing their efforts on a fund-raising letter sent to the families of all incoming sixth-graders, as well as returning students, and on a wide-ranging raffle -- aimed at the community as well as school families -- set to happen on Sunday.

Sandburg Principal Tom Henderlite said he applauds the parents' efforts.

"We wanted to continue with some sort of activity to give students an after-school option," he said. "And also for them to know that's an important place for kids to build relationships with their school and with the staff who are their coaches and supervisors. I hated to see those be gone and they would more than likely be gone for at least two years."

"It's a temporary project to try to have some activities over the next two years that will benefit kids," he said. "After that it will be up to the district to have a referendum passed and go back to the plan we used to have."

The school has to have the money for each session four weeks before it begins. If the parent group is unable to raise the amount they need, the school will have to evaluate their program and decide what they can and can't keep.

But parent Coryell isn't too daunted.

"We're just coming up with sucker sales, candy bar sales, maybe a pancake breakfast," she said. "We'll just keep coming up with ideas until we hit our goal."