My kid's schools raise thousands of dollars each semester. My daughter's elementary school raised $41,000 this month just to fund a PE teacher.
People give private money to public schools all the time. My family gave more money to public schools this past year than we did to our church.
Jenks just reached out to some wealthy parents. There is nothing wrong with taht. Tulsa Public Schools accepted.
This story ran last summer...
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=19&articleid=20110627_19_0_Ananon334874Anonymous donor funds eight TPS social worker positions cut from budgetBy ANDREA EGER World Staff Writer
Published: 6/27/2011
An anonymous donor has stepped forward to fund eight social workers' positions that had been eliminated in a $4.2 million cut from the Tulsa Public Schools special education budget for 2011-12.
The district announced the $175,000 donation in a Monday afternoon press release. Superintendent Keith Ballard expressed gratitude in a written statement. "Of all the programs we were forced to cut, this is the one that troubled me the most," he said. "Special education services are so critical, especially when we have such a strong desire to help students beyond state-mandated minimums. Additionally, it is a good leverage of school dollars when combined with the resources of DHS to provide for these positions. We are so grateful to our anonymous donor for pitching in when our own state legislature doesn't provide adequate funding to support these mission-critical programs."
With the restoration of the eight positions, social workers can continue to get students connected to services ranging from food, clothing and shelter assistance to crisis intervention services because of abuse, loss or suicidal thoughts. TPS slashed its special education budget in preparation for state funding reductions and the expiration of federal stimulus funds.
The cuts included 65 of the 140 special education employee positions that were being paid for with stimulus funds and $1.3 million for student counseling services provided by mental health agencies.