A Guide to PIE Finances

As a parent at Jay Shideler Elementary School you may have questions about why you are periodically asked by Partners in Education (PIE) to participate in fundraising activities. This year, we hope to address some of those questions by answering them up front.
First you may wonder why any fundraising is necessary. After all, we are a tax-financed public school. While this is true, tax dollars only support the basics. Through fundraising, we as parents are able to provide some items that make Jay Shideler a better school for our children. At Jay Shideler this year, we expect to limit our fundraising to four activities. These are explained as follows:

· Innisbrook Gift Wrap Sales. This is the largest source of income for PIE. We hope to raise over $20,000 through this fundraiser which is going on now.
·Innisbrook Cookie Dough Sales. New in 2006-2007. We will sell cookie dough and hope to raise $5,000.
· Sock Hop. We hope to raise funds through this fun event and the accompanying silent auction on October 12, 2006.
· Box Tops for Education. We are collecting box tops for education and our goal is to raise over $500 for the 2006-2007 school year. Keep clipping those box tops.

Please note that School Supplies and T-shirts are not included in the fundraisers listed above. PIE supports these two sales as a convenience to our families and to encourage school spirit. They are not fundraisers.

PIE funds are spent each year for the direct benefit of students. Each year’s budget covers many items, the largest of which are:

· $9,500 for use by teachers and staff to supplement the supplies and equipment provided for their rooms by the district
· $4,200 to be used by grade levels to purchase materials to be used by all classrooms at a grade level (some grade levels choose to use this money to subsidize field trip costs)
· $2,000 for field day equipment and refreshments
· $2,200 for hospitality functions at school-wide events and on teacher workdays
· $2,500 for at-risk tutoring
· $500 for landscaping improvements and playground equipment
· $1,500 for library materials
· $800 for sixth grade recognition activities
· $850 for fine arts activities

We hope that the above information will help you to better understand the need for and nature of the items financed by PIE’s fundraising efforts at Jay Shideler. Hopefully you will agree that these items will enhance your child’s learning experience and support our fundraising goals, as you are able.