The San Marino Schools Foundation achieved its recent goal of sparing all 14 full-time positions within the San Marino Unified School District that were in danger of being laid off by raising a total of $1.218 million through its “We Are San Marino” campaign.
“From the bottom of my heart, I thank our community for contributing to and participating in the ‘We Are San Marino’ campaign,” said Erin Bilvado, president of SMSF. “We accomplished our goal thanks to the hard work of our trustees, parents, students, staff, associate trustees and community leaders. All who gave are heroes to our children and teachers.”
The foundation raised more than $1.239 million, which includes allocations from each school site PTA or PTSA, totaling $140,000, and a one-to-one gift match of new individual donations during the last weeks of the campaign. With these final calculations only recently in, the district has not yet met to officially recall the four positions that received final layoff notices during the school board’s May 12 meeting. During that meeting, the school board rescinded layoff notices of nine positions due to the foundation’s fundraising figures that were available at the time. The foundation extended its campaign until May 31 to continue to raise money in an effort to save those four positions.
“It’s really remarkable what our San Marino Schools Foundation, its leadership team, trustees and donors continue to help us accomplish,” said Superintendent Jeff Wilson. “We simply could not operate at the level we do without this absolutely crucial support and could not be more grateful for these herculean efforts.”
The foundation and district thanked all its supporters for donating and for encouraging others to give, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to both institutions, reaching the goal required the collective efforts of a wide cross section of stakeholders. Within the foundation, trustees came together to reach out to parents and community members. Specifically, the campaign was led by its executive committee members — Erin Bilvado, Lawrence Yang, Tina Siu, Zeina Daoud and Michael Killackey — and direct communications to each school were made by Michele Esbenshade, Alison Moller, Greg Chapman, Mark Yee, and Rich Anthony and Issa Nesnas.
Outside of the foundation, there were many individuals and organizations supporting this campaign. They include each school site PTA or PTSA for making a contribution to the campaign; Nicolette Fuerst, Marci Wendling, Michiko Lee and Alison Moller for launching listening tours at each campus; SMHS student leaders who spearheaded critical outreach and fundraising campaigns; community organizations — Rotary Club, City Club, Chinese Club and San Marino Community Athletics Association — which gave directly to the campaign and encouraged their members to give; school board members and city council members who gave to the campaign; VAPA teachers and students who created special virtual performances; athletic teams that challenged each other to see who could raise more money; teachers who requested donations during Teacher Appreciation Day; and Dan Giddings and Steve Talt for reaching out to their fellow alumni.
San Marino Schools Foundation Saves All Positions
