Crestmoor Parents Raise Funds to Hire New Teacher

Wanting to cut down on the number of combination classes at their school, Crestmoor Elementary parents have banded together to try a new experiment this school year: pay for another teacher on their own.

The parents of Crestmoor's PTO have been meeting since last school year, and they launched a special fundraising effort called "One More Teacher" to raise the additional funding necessary to hire a sixth teacher at the school.

They were able to raise $22,000, which will be used to hire a new part-time teacher if the San Bruno Park School Board approves the proposal at its .

"Because of the nature of this position it will not be the cause of or set any precedent that would be used to determine past practice for the future," the proposal states. "It is a one-time solution to a unique problem and would not continue after the 2012-2013 school year."

The proposal seems to have the support of the school district, which has acknowledged the uniqueness of the idea of having parents—rather than the school district—pay a teacher's salary.

The school board would have to approve the proposal as a gift to the school district, which would come with a set of guidelines that would have to be followed.

Board members would also have to decide whether the proposal puts other schools in lower-income neighborhoods at a disadvantage.

"The Board will need to consider whether such a precedent would create the potential for a fiscal inequity issue between the district schools, based upon one attendance area's ability to fund raise," Superintendent David Hutt said in a staff report.

If the proposal is approved, Crestmoor will be able to hire a part-time teacher for its kindergarten class, which would allow all of the other teachers to focus on working with one grade in a classroom.

The school board meeting is at 7 p.m. at .

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