Private Giving to Public Schools and Districts in Los Angeles County: A Pilot Study.

In an era of dependence on nonflexible funding by states, private support is a desirable source of funding. Anecdotal reports and a limited body of documented research suggest districts and schools are pursuing private support with increased sophistication and aggressiveness. This pilot study is designed to provide schools and school districts with information on the types of public-private partnerships that have been developed and the mechanisms used to attract private resources. Specifically, private support giving in the Los Angeles-area schools is examined. The results are based on interviews of superintendents, principals, school district staff, and local education foundation representatives in fall and winter 2000. Section 1 is an introduction. Section 2 examines what is currently known about private support of public schools. Section 3 explains the research methodology. Section 4 summarizes the answers to several questions: Who are the private givers? How do schools attract private support? What type of support is provided, and how are the contributions used? Section 5 shares the lessons learned about effectively raising private support. In addition to numerous tables of data, three appendices explain interview protocols. (Contains 100 references and 27 endnotes.) (RKJ)