PEF Donates Record-Breaking $4.1 Million to PUSD

  The Piedmont Education Foundation presented a record $4,116,427 check to the Piedmont Unified School District at a board meeting on Sept. 10.

  Of this grant, $1,071,860 is allocated to Piedmont High School and is used to support teachers, counselors, athletics, library services, and technology, according to PEF. 

  “Primarily, it’s from the Giving Campaign,” said PEF executive director Heather Frank.

  According to the PEF website, the Giving Campaign is a year-long fundraising drive for PUSD. 

  “It’s important to donate because there are so many things that our schools would not have without these donations,” Frank said. “We have a lot of gratitude for the community that keeps it going.”

  The money was also raised through PEF fundraisers this past year, including the Spring Fling and the Harvest Festival. 

  “I remember when it was astonishing that they broke 2 million, and then that they broke 3 million,” said Association of Piedmont Teachers President and English teacher Elise Marks. “It just blows everybody else out of the water.”

  Teachers wore purple on Tuesday, Sept. 16, and held thank-you signs outside the school for PEF, according to an email sent out to Piedmont teachers.

  “It’s important that the community understands we don’t get much money from the state,” Marks said. “I’m just so amazed and grateful to the Piedmont community and all the PEF folks who worked so hard.”

  Frank said that PEF’s mission is to provide sustained financial support to Piedmont schools through fundraising and community engagement. 

  “We take care of all of the administrative aspects of fundraising that PUSD does not have the capacity for,” Frank said. “We also work closely with PUSD to make sure that the funds are being spent in a way that matches the parent priorities and matches what is needed by all of the different schools.”