State Budget Crisis Leads to More Than $25 Million in Proposed Cuts from CUSD – 51,000 Students Need Community’s Support August 31, 2009

Organized to help reduce the impact of budget cuts at local schools, the 16th Annual CUSD Foundation Golf Classic will take place on Monday, September 21 at the El Niguel Country Club. Just days remain for golfers and sponsors to get on par with academic excellence and register to help the students and teachers of the Capistrano Unified School District.

The Exclusive El Niguel Country Club

The current state budget crisis is compromising the quality education that is synonymous with the CUSD and adversely affecting more than 51,000 students and teachers. Expanding class sizes and aging infrastructures are just two consequences of such fiscal instability at the 56 schools within the Capistrano Unified School District.

2009-10 budget cuts hit home at the CUSD:

• Per pupil funding reduced by $682.
• Class Size Reduction (CSR) program eliminated in Grades 2 and 3.
• Student-to-teacher ratio increases to 31.5 to 1 in Grades 2 and 3.
• Student-to-teacher ration increases to 25 to 1 in Grade 1.
• 9 Assistant Principals at K-5 schools eliminated.
• 2 Assistant Principals at Middle Schools eliminated.
• 17.5 Guidance counselor positions eliminated.
• Funding for high school sports reduced.

Although more than 51,000 CUSD students within the CUSD will be directly impacted by these budget cuts, the local community can make an immediate difference through the CUSD Foundation.

Hosting its 16th Annual Golf Classic and auction on Monday, September 21, the CUSD Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)3 fundraising entity operating independently of the District. With a firm belief that education is the core of a strong community, the Foundation is dedicated to enriching the lives of every student at every school within the District.

The cost to golf in this year’s event is just $250, which includes food and refreshments on the course and dinner at the exclusive El Niguel Country Club in Laguna Niguel. For guests attending only the dinner and auctions portion of the event, the cost is $50.

The 16th Annual CUSD Foundation Golf Classic benefits its Grant Incentives for Teachers (GIFT) Program, which supports enhanced and innovative teaching programs by offering grants to teachers who work to enrich the classroom learning experience.

The GIFT Program in Action:

• Grants fund science equipment, upgraded computers and software, video equipment, reading material and tools for literacy building, and innovative teaching technologies.
• Over the past several years, the CUSD Foundation has given more than $200,000 to teachers throughout the District directly through the GIFT Program.
• For a complete list of programs aided by GIFT Program, visit www.cusdfoundation.org/money-raised.

Time is running out to join key contributors who support inspiring minds. Those interested in championing the next generation of CUSD scholars by participating in the 16th Annual CUSD Foundation Golf Classic are encouraged to register online, today, at www.cusdfoundation.org. A complete list of local businesses that have proudly pledged their support to the CUSD’s 51,000 students and their community, as a whole, is also available online.

More About The CUSD Foundation:

• In 2008, the CUSD Foundation raised more than $1 million to save the jobs of 266 teachers, who were given pink slips at the end of the 2008-09 school year, which would have led to larger class sizes.
• According to Mariann Duff, who teaches 3rd Grade at George White Elementary, “I am so grateful to the Foundation for what it did for our teachers and students last year! I am a 3rd Grade teacher, and had the CUSD Foundation not raised $1 million, our 20 to 1 ratio might have been eliminated, which would have left me and so many others without a job. It was also so uplifting to hear about the many parents out there fighting for all of us in the midst of last year’s budget crisis, when it seemed like the only news we were receiving from the state was very bleak. Thank you so much for your generosity and time. It was very much appreciated!”

For more information on the CUSD Foundation, please visit www.cusdfoundation.org.