Without the support of the Parent Student Teacher Association and the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation, our students, faculty and staff would be deprived of the programs and supplies needed to make Mira Costa one of the top schools in the nation. Their assistance, financial and otherwise, to our school district is simply invaluable.
The PTSA has the ability to provide materials and services needed on our campus, while the MBEF can contribute to funding. Both organizations play a critical role in the success of the school.
The funds provided by these two organizations have been essential in making Costa into the well-respected school it is today. The distinction Mira Costa has earned as a high-ranking public school would not have been possible through public funding alone, and the PSAT and MBEF funds have become necessary in order to maintain our school’s high level of performance.
When this current period of budget woes threatened to hurt our district, The MBEF and PTSA responded with a large effort from supportive parents and teachers. If MBEF had not raised an additional $1.3 million last year for Mira Costa, the school would have lost an educational advisor, a student support counselor and the librarian. This year, nine teachers’ full salaries are paid for by MBEF funding.
When students and teachers returned to their classrooms in September, new printers, televisions, DVD/VHS combo players, LCD projectors and ELMO document cameras had been installed, all purchased by the PTSA.
In all, the PTSA granted over $28,000 of equipment for teachers and students with the mission of providing the best possible educational tools.
The PTSA, in addition to donating supplies, restored the after-school tutoring program. Students can now recieve tutoring or use the library and its computers after school because of funds provided by the PTSA.
The MBEF recently raised approximatley $900,000 for Pledge Day, held on Nov. 12. Holding this fundraiser so early in the year benefited the district by preventing some of the financial insecurities that were experienced last year. The district won’t have to dip into its reserve savings as severly because of these funds.
Costa students should be aware of the efforts that go into supporting their school. We should be working diligently every day, but also giving thanks to those who make our learning experience possible.
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