ABSTRACT
Public schools operate using public moneys, right? Well, not exactly. Today, because of the lack of sufficient public moneys from state governments, many public schools and school districts in the United States are being subsidized with private funds from businesses, PTA fund-raisers, and local education foundations (LEFs), which are tax-exempt nonprofits. Although these sources of private funding can help schools and districts secure additional educational resources, not all communities have successful education support organizations (ESOs). More often than not, it is the well-resourced, wealthy, and less diverse schools and districts that bring in private dollars (Mattison, 2012). Compared to parents in small and poor districts without fund-raising infrastructures, parents in moneyed school districts can tap into wide networks of professionals in order to finance and support a fund-raising machinery that protects against state budget cuts (Sattem, 2007). Hence, LEF dollars may bolster district budgets, but a reliance on private donations undermines the principle of equity central to public education (Cuatto, 2003).
