Invest in Education

Donors to BPSF know that a well-rounded education takes more resources than a basic one.

The Bellingham Promise is the Bellingham School District’s strategic plan.  It makes a collective commitment to empower every child to discover and develop their passion.  Imagine the benefits for our community if we were to truly deliver on this pledge for every student.
[toggle title=”THE CASE FOR A LOCAL SCHOOL FOUNDATION”]

Just over 5 years ago, the Bellingham School District, like many districts throughout the state, received over 70% of their budget needs from the State of Washington. This made sense, as our State Constitution decrees that the paramount duty of the State is to make ample provision for educating all of our children.  Yet for this coming school year, we can expect funds from Olympia to meet just over 60% of our needs.  This translates to a loss of millions of dollars of student support for Bellingham’s Public Schools alone.  This shortfall persists despite recent State Supreme Court findings that validate funding for education should be our first and highest priority and thereby mandating us to do better.

The reality of our present funding shortage means students today have markedly different access to the same educational experiences that students even a decade before had.  By necessity, hard choices must be made each year to fulfill our commitment to high quality instruction within every classroom.   In many cases, these hard choices have meant increases in classroom sizes, cuts to even fundamental programs and considerable reductions in student enrichment opportunities.

These shifts impact all of our students:  our athletes and our artists, our musicians and our mathematicians, our most highly capable learners and our students needing life skills assistance.  From our youngest eager learners to our oldest promising graduates, we are not delivering on our obligation to fully fund their education.

Yet whether we understand it empirically or sense it intuitively, we collectively recognize that an investment in high-quality education for our community’s children is among the best investments we can make; for our local community, for our state’s economy and ultimately for our shared future as a nation.[/toggle]
[toggle title=”A CULTURE OF EDUCATIONAL PHILANTHROPY”]

The Bellingham Promise is the Bellingham School District’s strategic plan.  It makes a collective commitment to empower every child to discover and develop their passion.  Imagine the benefits for our community if we were to truly deliver on this pledge for every student.  Funds donated to the Bellingham Public Schools Foundation help to deliver on this promise for students in every building district-wide.  In this way, strong community support of the Foundation translates to flourishing local schools.  Flourishing schools in turn foster a vibrant local economy and an even more desirable city to call home.

As a community, we know the vital importance of supporting our local businesses and feel good doing so.  This school year, we ask that you broaden your definition of supporting “local” to include supporting our schools, as well as our businesses.  Just imagine the possibilities…[/toggle]

All gifts matter, large or small, and together add up to the difference between a basic education and a great one.

Click on the button below to make your gift online today via your PayPal account or Credit Card.

Click on the button below to make your gift online today via your PayPal account or Credit Card.



If your prefer, you can mail your donation to:

The Bellingham Public Schools Foundation
PO BOX 1132
Bellingham, WA 98227-1132


If your prefer, you can mail your donation to:

The Bellingham Public Schools Foundation
PO BOX 1132
Bellingham, WA 98227-1132

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