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OUR BIGGEST FUNDRAISER OF THE YEAR!
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The PTSA Budget Crisis: A Note from your PTSA Presidents

Every school year around the half way point PTSA reviews its budget projections, checking whether our fundraising efforts were successful and our spending estimates accurate. This year, unfortunately, we have to ring the alarm bell.

Our major fundraisers are suffering the effects of the economic crisis. While we’ve been able to make some extra money with new fundraisers, we are about $25,000 short of our projections. The bottom line is, we are in a BUDGET CRISIS.

Considering the state of the world economy, this is not surprising; but it is alarming. The PTSA budget has a direct impact on each and every child at SMASH. Here’s why: PTSA funds numerous school essentials. From teacher assistant salaries to financing the arts and Spanish programs to underwriting the office copy machine to field trips, PTSA literally keeps the school moving. Therefore we HAVE to make sure that we can meet our financial responsibilities, not only this year, but also next and the one after that. Particularly because we do not yet know the impact of the new budget on Santa Monica public schools.

We have no doubt that this IS possible. SMASH is such an amazing community of students, teachers and parents, all of whom have come through when necessary in years past.

This year we need you more than ever before.

PTSA will 1.) Increase fundraising efforts throughout the rest of the year, and 2.) Curb spending as much as possible without cutting essential programs.

• We will initiate a spring push for the Family Donation Drive to reach our goal of 100% participation. If you have not yet contributed, please do so. If you already have, perhaps you can give more? No amount is too big or too small.
• We are looking for new fundraising opportunities that involve the larger Santa Monica community. Please consider joining our fundraising team. We need people to help write grants, find businesses to underwrite a Core Project, and people with new fundraising ideas. We will meet on Tuesday, March 24 at 6:30PM. Please contact April Motola (aprilmotola@me.com).
• We have to do what we can to make SuperSMASH a success. Please make an extra effort to get Silent Auction donations, and invite family, friends, neighbors and colleagues. We need to get the larger Santa Monica community involved!

Make no mistake: this budget crisis is real.

But together we can make sure that SMASH stays the thriving community it is. We need your participation in the spring push of the Family Donation Drive. We need your help with new and old fundraising efforts. We need you involved. In a time like this there is no better place to invest (time and money) than your child’s education.

Renew your commitment to SMASH now. Together we can and will succeed.