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What is LAEF?
What does LAEF Fund?
How do I make a donation?
What is the suggested annual donation amount?
The suggested 2024-25 donation is $1,400 per student this school year or $140/month per student from September to June. Gifts of any amount are appreciated.
LAEF is not funded by a few wealthy donors. It is funded by thousands of individual donations that collectively add up to the total raised each year. We encourage all district families to participate at a level that is comfortable for them.
Is my donation tax-deductible?
What does LAEF do?
How do you determine LAEF’s annual grant?
The LAEF Board uses the results of our annual survey and combines them with our many conversations with LASD leadership, school parents, and community members to determine our anticipated fundraising capability and desire to continue funding essential programs. We also discuss the issues facing our schools, district, and larger economy, and gauge our parent and local community's ability to support the annual grant.
LAEF funding is distributed as equitably as possible throughout all TK-8 schools in the Los Altos School District: Almond, Blach, Covington, Gardner, Egan, Loyola, Oak, Santa Rita, and Springer. Your tax-deductible donation benefits every student in our district this school year.
Why did LAEF change its grant allocations?
LAEF works with LASD each year to determine the funding priorities based on curriculum objectives and our fundraising capacity. Refer to How LAEF Funding Works for more information. This year, we made some allocation adjustments:
- Reduced the allocation for elementary STEM programs. LASD has now fully integrated STEM instruction into the core classroom curriculum rather than having a separate, "pull-out" program. Learn more about changes to LAEF STEM funding.
- Reduced the allocation for Computer Science. New Proposition 28 funds will cover much of the program expense.
- Added Living Classroom program to our funded programs. LAEF is pleased to be funding this engaging, nature-based program.
Why are the PTAs and LAEF both raising money for the schools?
A key to LASD’s success is the vibrant partnerships and financial support from LAEF and each school’s PTA. Although LASD is one of the top-ranked school districts in California, state and local taxes alone do not provide adequate funding for the excellent education we want for our students. LAEF and the school PTAs raise funds to help bridge the funding gap, giving LASD the additional resources they need to make all our elementary and junior high schools strong.
- LAEF funds teachers and staff for programs like Wellness, Innovation, Library, and Arts & Humanities at all 9 LASD elementary and junior high schools. LAEF is the only way for parents to fund LASD teaching staff in our district.
- PTA funds equipment and supplies students need to learn, along with community enrichment.
LAEF and the PTAs are only possible with your financial support.
Does LAEF play a role in determining curriculum?
No, decisions about curriculum are made entirely by the Los Altos School District (LASD). LAEF is also not involved in personnel hiring or management of District employees. LAEF's purpose is to help fund staff and programs prioritized by LASD and parents. LASD would not be able to provide a well-rounded education without additional funding from LAEF.
Are LAEF and MVLA High School Foundation the same organization?
No, the two foundations are separate entities. The Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF) raises funds for the 7 elementary schools and 2 junior high schools in the Los Altos School District. The Mountain View Los Altos High School Foundation (MVLA High School Foundation) raises funds for Los Altos High School and Mountain View High School. Parents are strongly encouraged to donate to both foundations if they have students in the schools each foundation supports. Here's where to donate to each foundation: www.LAEFonline.org/donate and www.mvlafoundation.org/donate
Public schools are supposed to be free. Why should I donate?
Many of us choose to live in the Los Altos School District for our great public schools, but educational excellence comes at a price. The funding we receive is far lower than other highly ranked school districts across the country. This is because California voters passed Proposition 13, a 1978 state measure that limits property tax increases, which caused a decline in funding for our schools. In our school district, the housing values are high, but our effective property tax rate* is one of the lowest in the state due to the long-time homeownership common in our community. State and local taxes do not fully fund excellent public schools for our students.
We encourage parents and community members to donate to LAEF and fund the high-quality education we value. We believe that strong schools are the foundation of a thriving community. For more information, watch the 2-minute video "Funding an Excellent Public Education".
* Jeff Collins, “California property tax quirk,” The Mercury News, December 1, 2016
What is the LAEF Endowment Fund?
Does LAEF apply for grants?
LASD FAQs: Annual Budget, Property Taxes & Bond/Parcel Tax Measures
How much money does it cost to educate each student in LASD? Where does the funding come from?
LASD budgeted expenditures of $23,408 per student for the 2024-25 school year, against revenues of $24,356 per student. 93% of LASD funding comes from the local community. Property taxes pay for 73% of the needed funds, with another 7% coming from the state and the federal government. LASD looks to other local sources, such as parcel taxes, developer fees, and fundraising from LAEF for the remaining 20% of needed funds. Refer to LASD's website for budget details.
Each property in the state of California is limited to a 1% maximum property tax levy collected by the county of residence. The county then distributes that 1% to various public agencies, including K-12 school districts, community college districts, towns/cities, and the county itself. Santa Clara County distributes the collected taxes to TK-8 public schools, with 20% of residential property tax allocated for the schools run by LASD.
For example, if you are a resident within LASD boundaries and have a 2 million dollar home, you pay about $20,000 each year in taxes. LASD would receive about $4,000 of your payment.
Put another way, LASD gets 20% of every property tax dollar. The remainder goes to the MVLA High School District, Foothill College, city services (streets, police, etc.), library, etc. LASD and BCS receive 100% of parcel tax dollars.
I already pay high property taxes (and school parcel taxes). Why do I need to support LAEF?
How does parcel tax funding protect academic excellence in local schools?
Parcel tax funding allows LASD to maintain the excellent educational program the district delivers, retain excellent teachers, and protect small class sizes and small neighborhood schools. Refer to LASD's parcel tax website for details about parcel taxes and the independent citizen oversight of the funds.
Does the Citizens’ Advisory Committee for Finance (CACF) provide oversight of parcel tax expenditures?
The community has approved bond measures in the past. Why do we need both bond and LAEF funding?
Can LAEF share funds with other educational foundations or schools in our area?
California has designated Los Altos School District a "Community-Funded" district — one of the 8% of school districts in our state whose local taxes are perceived to meet minimum school funding requirements. It receives only 7% of its total funding from state and federal sources and thus relies on local revenue sources such as property taxes, parcel taxes, and donations to provide essential educational programs. Direct support from the community through LAEF funds programs such as computer science, music, art, PE, Living Classroom, librarians, junior high electives, and mental health counselors. This local support makes the difference between schools that offer bare-bones curricula and schools that provide the quality education that we value.
Occasionally, we are asked about sharing funds with educational foundations or schools in our area that may have more limited resources. Our Articles of Incorporation state that the funds we raise and the work we do are for the sole purpose of improving student education in the Los Altos School District, thereby precluding funds from being used for any other purpose. In addition, given fundraising challenges over the last several years, any alternative use of funds would jeopardize programs that our parents and students value highly.
We encourage parents and community members to give directly to organizations that they are passionate about rather than using LAEF as a pass-through funding organization. Both the Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation are great places to start learning about individual organizations that could use your financial support. Donations made directly to these foundations will be put to use, benefiting a variety of local nonprofits. In addition, the nearby Ravenswood Educational Foundation provides funding for elementary and middle schools in East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park.
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