The $2,500 donation figure suggested by the task force could increase if Sacramento continues to cut public education funding as expected in January, Tracy said.
The school board has attempted to resolve the multi-million dollar gap on its own. The board has increased class sizes and nearly doubled its number of out-of-district students over the years, but any further cuts would greatly impact the district's educational programming, Tracy said.
"We have one of the lowest administrative ratios in the county. We have judiciously made cuts that have had the least impact on students, but those options are disappearing," said Tracy, adding that he thinks that appealing to the community for donations is the district's last resort.
"We believe everyone has a stake, in one form or another, in our school system," said Joel Peterson, district clerk and co-chair of the task force.
The $2,500 amount was arrived at because there are 2,400 to 2,500 families with school-aged children in La Cañada. One hundred percent participation would repair the gap in the district's budget. The task force also based it on La Cañada's median family-household income of $160,000 to $180,000, Peterson said.
"You're talking about two percent of the average person's household income," Peterson said. "We thought it was something most La Cañada families could realistically do."
Al Restivo, chairman of La Cañada Flintridge's Republican Committee, said he supports the district asking La Cañada families for more money. But he also said he would like to see the district do everything possible to resolve the budgetary crisis on its own before asking the community to dig into its pockets.
