Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation grants $3.6 million to school district

At Tuesday night’s board meeting of the Menlo Park City School District (MPCSD), excited students from Encinal, Laurel, Oak Knoll, and Hillview presented a symbolic $3.6 million check to the school board, which passed a resolution to accept the grant. The grant from the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation (MPAEF) will become a crucial part of the MPCSD’s 2014-2015 operating budget. In fact, last year’s grant from the MPAEF made up 10 percent of the MPCSD’s budget.

MPAEF Co-Presidents Calla Griffith and Kristin Seuell emphasized how the $3.6 million grant was truly a community effort with the following groups helping to meet the organization’s goal of raising $1,500 per student:

Family Donors funded 2,154 students at $1,500.

Community Donors funded 95 students at $1,500.

Business & Realtor Partners funded 95 students at $1,500.

Supporters of the MPAEF’s Night in Monte Carlo Auction event, the Are You IN Run for Education, the Holiday Boutique, and shoppers of the online portal collectively funded 286 students.

Photos by Nicole Scarborough