Why We Give

Why we give

Building academic foundations builds a vital and resilient community. As we strive to support our teachers, students and parents, we recognize that as a community, stewarding our youngest members is as critical as stewarding the land and sea that surrounds us.

O'Hara Family

Nicole and Nathanial

"We support the education foundation because we believe place-based, experiential learning opportunities uniquely reach and inspire kids."

Port Townsend

"Excellence in education equates to economic vitality."

Butterfield Family

"High quality education has always been valued in our family and we believe it is essential to keep our community strong.
We support PTEF to empower our educators to transform a solid educational foundation into the highest quality educational opportunity. "

Why give?

The State of Education

Why fund education?

Our public schools are the heart of our community and an educated population is the cornerstone of our democracy. Supporting public education means supporting the future and ensuring tomorrow’s leaders have the skills and knowledge to help solve some of our world’s most vexing challenges.

Does our state fully fund education?

No. In 2012, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled unanimously in the McCleary case that state government had failed its paramount constitutional duty to fully fund basic education for our children. They ordered the State to come up with a plan to fix it and then fully fund basic education by the 2017-2018 school year. There are still many unknowns, including if our local levy dollars will be “swiped” to fund this budget.

While Washington has a strong economy and was ranked #1 for business in 2017, our state ranks 28th in the nation for per-student education dollars.

I joined the PTA why give to PTEF?

PTA’s create a sense of community at each individual school and raise important support for technology, classroom supplies, field trips, and more. They understand the unique needs at each school and galvanize parent volunteers.

PTEF provides district-wide support that impacts every student. PTEF is proud to work in close partnership with our PTA community. By supporting both the PTA and PTEF you broaden the legacy of your giving and open pathways for student’s years to come.

How does WA compare?

Per pupil funding in 1993: WA ranked 11th in the nation
Per pupil funding in 2015: WA ranked 29th
Teacher salary in 2012: WA ranked 23rd
Class size in 2014: WA ranked 46th
Is our state keeping up?
No. Today our students and teachers need to be learning 21st century skills. Our state has rigorous standards and graduation requirements. Unfortunately, state funding, teacher salaries, and class size have not kept up. 
In our district nearly 54% of our students qualify for subsidized meals
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