FUNDING SCHOOL FUN PARENT POCKETBOOKS GET NO RECESS DESPITE MORE HELP FROM STATE.

Byline: BARBARA CORREA Staff Writer

Back to school'' typically translates to ``open your wallet'' for parents -- not just for clothes and supplies, but also to fund programs like music, art and other extracurricular activities.

But this year -- with state funding at its highest level since the beginning of the decade -- parents and principals are hopeful that they won't be under quite so much pressure to raise money.

Funds in excess of $67.1 billion will flow to California K-12 schools for the 2006-2007 school year, up nearly $3 billion from last year. Per student, the state will spend $8,244, an 11.4 percent increase over 2005-06.

Gerry Shelton, chief financial officer for the California Department of Education, said schools and districts have a right to get excited about the money. But he warned against getting over-excited, because a lot of it is part of a one-time payment that makes up for Proposition 98 minimums that were not met in previous years.

``This was a great year, but it's not necessarily going to be repeated,'' said Shelton. Still, it's going to give districts and schools the ability to do some wish-list shopping this school year.

``This was set up in the form of fairly discretionary block grants covering wide expenditure areas,'' said Shelton. ``One is almost completely discretionary and it's over $500 million.''

An additional $100 million block is to be used for instructional materials and technology. ``That could be anything from textbooks to library books to films to software,'' he said.

The meetings that will determine exactly how the money will be spent won't get started at schools and districts until the school year is well under way. But already, parents and principals are looking forward to using the funds.

Roger Rasmussen, budget director for the Los Angeles Unified School District, envisions buying P.E. equipment and expanding arts programs with the money, which will total about $56 per pupil, he said. Since it's one-time money, ``we wouldn't want to go buying employees with (it),'' he added. The district has been paying for music and art teachers to visit schools once a week for about four years, said spokeswoman Hilda Ramirez. New money will allow it to build on that, she said.

``It is looking brighter than it has for quite some time,'' said Chris Eftychiou, spokesman for the Long Beach Unified School District. Unlike some other districts, Long Beach found ways to avoid cutting art and music programs during California's budget woes, such as freezing equipment purchases. The extra money this year will allow it to do even more. He said that although everyone is aware that this year's windfall is a one-time event, he'd like to see schools carry it over for some years.

Districts and schools scratching their heads over what to do with a bit of extra cash is a far cry from just a few years ago, when controversy erupted over principals and teachers soliciting parents to help fill in the gaps left by budget cuts to pay for everything from football uniforms to classroom basics.

Not that the budget turnaround has stopped such solicitation.

Confusion over just what schools can ask from parents, and what they can't, continues.

Rene Amy is a parent and Pasadena gadfly who has sued the school district several times over various issues, including charging parents fees to cover expenses such as school gym uniforms and special organizers. He said despite that successful lawsuit and others, what he calls ``pay to play'' practices continue at schools.

This school year's fresh funds probably won't impact the practice of targeted fund raising.

But, with the budget crisis years still quite recent, most parents accept the fund-raising as part of the package. ``I was on the (school) council for four years,'' said Robin Hagey, the Parent-Teacher-Student Association president of Westlake High. ``We didn't have a dime. Last year, at back-to-school night, I was really afraid we wouldn't have enough money for toilet paper.''

barbara.correa(at)dailynews.com

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