About ten parents representing foundation organizations from several San Diego city schools gathered Monday, June 15 outside a Scripps Ranch Starbucks to discuss concerns regarding an agenda item slated for a school board meeting the following day aimed at foundation-funded teachers. Parent-teacher organizations (PTOs) — including those in the Ocean Beach/Point Loma area — use school foundations to raise money to supplement shrinking school district allotments, in some cases writing checks directly funding programs such as choral, art, computers and libraries. But San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) board member John de Beck said the board voted during the June 16 meeting to form a committee focused on creating uniform standards and policies regarding teaching positions formed as the result of school foundations’ money. De Beck said the issue was raised because school foundations have paid for many positions through the district. “As soon as they cross over, they run into the issue of unions,” de Beck said, regarding foundations choosing teachers, but paying them through the district. “There’s certain rules … Say that person leaves, then [the school foundation that hired them] has a problem because they gave us the money but we were the employers. That falls into the union contract.” Some school foundations – such as La Jolla’s Torrey Pines Elementary School (TPES) – use additional funds to hire support teachers in an effort to reduce class sizes, while other foundations such as the Friends of Pacific Beach Secondary Schools raise funds solely to pay for after-school music clubs and programs. During the special June 16 SDUSD board meeting that included taking “direction” on foundation-funded teachers, board members voted to form a committee scrutinizing policies regarding hiring teachers through foundation-raised funding. Members formed a committee that includes representatives from the board, teachers union and foundations, as well as the SDUSD board’s attorneys, aimed at changing or forming policies regarding school foundations and PTO funding additional staff. De Beck said the board intended to set up a policy allowing “funding support for regular district positions that include all the benefits and rights of certificated positions — except tenure and transfer portions — when the source of funds are not regular district monies.”  “There is no written policy anywhere on how foundations/PTOs are supposed to pay for the staff that they fund,” said Missy Coleman, president of the TPES Foundation. “This item came to the board’s attention in a budget meeting last week and was put on the agenda to address this.” In the midst of budget cuts, parents at many local schools created fundraising events in an effort to replace slashed programs and fill positions — from librarians and nurses to science, art and other instructors. La Jolla Elementary School’s (LJES) farmers market celebrated its 10th year raising money to fund extra teaching positions in areas such as art, science and music, in addition to buying computers for students, said La Jolla Elementary School PTO President Fran Shimp. “They [SDUSD school board] should help start parent funds for positions at other schools instead of taking away from our kids,” Shimp said. Coleman said the TPES foundation — which held its annual gala June 5 — raises money to fund art, science and music teaching positions in addition to providing part-time teaching positions, which reduce class sizes. But other schools said board members may be cracking down on unfair practices. “I have a really hard time with this because I see it from both points of view,” said Kerry Upp, former treasurer for Friends of PB Secondary Schools. “La Jolla has all these foundations and are paying for lowered class sizes, and is that fair? Well, I don’t know.” Several parents representing groups from San Diego area schools, including Jerabek, Tierrasanta, Kumeyaay, Marshall Middle and Miramar Ranch said their parent foundations raised money in an effort to fund myriad teaching and supplemental positions. “The goal should be don’t take away parent groups’ money but to teach other schools how to raise funds,” said Jerabek Elementary School parent representative Donna Cleary. “If the position is unique and not a district job … then the position should be able to be funded on a one-time basis with a special agreement,” de Beck said. “The current process is for the district to accept the money and then the employee becomes a regular district employee … .” De Beck said current foundation-paid employees are given transfer, tenure and “other union rights.” “I think we need to negotiate this,” de Beck added. The district has had cases where the foundation pays for a teacher and then the job ends but the teacher has tenure “so we have to keep paying,” de Beck said. “One of the simplest solutions is for the foundations to say, ‘We have become the employer,’” de Beck said, adding that the committee would create solutions. “The second is for the jobs to be [called] a temporary foundation-supported teacher.” For more information, visit www.sandi.net.