Want to know more about private fundraising in Denver Public Schools and the impact it has on schools in our district? We are part of a growing number of DPS families, staff members, and community advocates who would like to see DPS make private fundraising for public schools more equitable across our district. Since DPS school closures and public state funding are both largely based on enrollment
, it is even more essential that we consider how private fundraising impacts DPS schools and the district’s efforts to make equity-based decisions. Only 25% of elementary schools in DPS have access to raising private funds. The range of fundraising among these schools is anywhere between $50,000 and $1.3 Million with the majority of these schools having access to over $300,000 per year. The level of inequity becomes clearer when comparing the demographics of the schools that have access to private fundraising and those that do not. The inequity is compounded when looking at what these schools are spending most of their privately-raised money on, which is staff. School fundraising organizations that have access to significant levels of fundraising dollars give grants directly to DPS year after year to pay for additional staff for their schools. Additional staff at some DPS schools leads to lower student:teacher ratios, access to counselors, tutors, and paraprofessionals, and extra opportunities and resources which can make some schools more attractive to families. This can create a wealth of opportunities for these schools and can contribute to reduced enrollment numbers at other schools. We urge DPS to take action to create fundraising policies to address the inequitable private funding that DPS accepts directly from schools’ fundraising organizations to pay for staff positions every year.
