UPDATE: Schools Foundation Raises More than $40,000 at Annual Dinner Auction

The Enumclaw Schools Foundation (ESF) on Saturday was able to raise enough funds to support at least one full-day kindergarten class at each elementary school in the district next year during its annual dinner auction, foundation president Nancy Merrill told Patch on Sunday.

While final numbers were still being tallied Merrill said more than $40,000 was raised from the event alone -- not including a sizable donation from Enumclaw Rotary that puts the collective amount raised to more than $50,000.

For six years, voter-approved I-728 funds sustained the full-day kindergarten program, but those funds have been eliminated in state budget reductions for the past two years. Full-day kindergarten is a vital part to ensuring a child as a good foundation entering the school system and so the ESF has since held this annual fundraiser each year -- this marks its third year -- to support the continuation of the program even as state funding for it has halted, Merrill said.

"The goal is to have every child reading and writing at grade level beginning in first grade," she said. "When they enter kindergarten with English language issues or have never been in preschool and so don't know how to hold a book or to read left to right, or their letters and numbers, it's a tremendous amount to catch them up in a half-day program. A full-day program ensures that by the time they start first grade, they understand all the behaviors and have the skills."

On the money side, the state continues to fund half-day kindergarten, and according to ESF, the district makes up the difference between the coast of a half-day program versus a full-day program. 

The district calculates a fee of $2,500 per student that covers half a teacher position that the state doesn't fund in addition to miscellaneous maintenance costs, schools Superintendent Mike Nelson said. 

The funds raised at the auction not only help to create scholarships for students who cannot afford to pay this fee, but they make it possible for more classes to exist at more locations. For example, according to Nelson, there is a requirement of a minimum of 20 students to make up a full class. 

If 15 students who were able to pay wanted to enroll in a class at a specific school, that doesn't meet the minimum number of students. ESF would hopefully be able to provide scholarships for five additional students to enroll in the class, Merrill said. If they don't need that minimum number of 20 students, those 15 students' best option might be to attend a different school, she said.

Until the I-728 funds return, ESF expects to continue these fundraising efforts to support full-day kindergarten. "We're hoping this bridges the gap by keeping one class in each school building and keeps the whole program alive," she said.

Thanks to growing community support from business owners and organizations like Rotary, ESF is now able to look for bigger foundations to help fund the program, including the Gates Foundation which was how the program first got started, Merrill said. 

Though they didn't continue to fund the program, Merrill is confident that data collected on the children's performance since full-day funding was cut (this year's first grade class is the first class that didn't benefit from the state-funded full-day kindergarten), could sway the foundation for more help. 

 Meanwhile, about 240 people were in attendance on Saturday.

A 'Red Light/Green Light' game involving the waving of red and green lighted sabers and a pot of $918 was a hit, said Merrill. Karri Hart ultimately won the pot but donated it back to the foundation.

Blue light sabers were also used to honor the Rotary in a Blue Light Salute.

 As with any community effort, there were lots of thanks and kudos to be given to various members who donated time and resources for the evening, including:

• Abby Rents
• Chandler Reach/Richard and Kathy Corella
• White Linen Catering

The savings thanks to these three vendors alone helped ESF to save more than $8,000, which translates directly into scholarships, said Merrill.  

Additionally, a dessert auction showcased the talents of some of the kindergarten class parents. Heidi Woodall won a $100 gift certificate to Amazon.com for her dessert which raised a whopping $160 -- according to Merrill, it was a chocolate mocha cake.

Compared to previous years, it didn't look like Saturday's fundraising efforts surpassed funds collected in previous years but Merrill said given the economy, it was still a successful event. "I am pleased, especially given we just had the [breakfast]."

"People had fun, we filled the room, and supported a great cause!" she said.

Here's more information from ESF about full day kindergarten in the district.