This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Palisades Elementary Charter Holds Annual Auction Gala

Family, friends and faculty gather to raise funds for Palisades Charter Elementary.

Resonant sounds of music blaring, glasses clinking and the rumble of abundant conversation filled a large ballroom where parents, faculty and guests joined together for the 2011 Palisades Elementary Auction Gala Saturday, March 26.

Several Westside residents gathered at the Sheraton Delfina in Santa Monica for a night of food and fun with the sole purpose of raising funds for Palisades Elementary.

Alongside annual giving, the auction acts as the school’s second major source of funding.  Last year, the program raised almost $120,000, said Joan Ingle, principle of Palisades Elementary.

Find out what's happening in Pacific Palisadeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

At a time when California suffers from numerous budget cuts, Palisades Elementary and the Palisades Enrichment Program (PEP) works hard to maintain necessary funds for enriched education.

“Our main concern is reducing class sizes,” said Palisades teacher, Christine Maxwell.

Find out what's happening in Pacific Palisadeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 An 18-year veteran of the school system, Maxwell informed gala guests of how the economy thrived in the past and how a lot of state money went toward public education.

But now that the school is working with less money each year and Palisades Elementary is threatened with larger class sizes, individualized attention to students is greatly reduced, she said.

“Class size reduction on a district level is now a thing of the past,” claimed Maxwell.

 Michele Alkin, PEP co-chair, said the school holds this event every year to raise awareness and to get parents and the community more involved with providing support for the school. Event producer and parent, Kevin Charbonneau stated that local companies “really stepped it up” as far as offering donations for the auction.

 This year’s auction was produced by Pacific Events Group, who introduced guests with open bar cocktails and a silent auction followed by a seated three-course dinner and the main event: a live auction. The evening concluded with dancing as a seven-piece band performed.

 The school receives thousands of dollars in contributions through different events each year.  In the 2009-2010 calendar year, the auction accounted for 25 percent of the total income to PEP, whose funds will go to supporting Palisades Elementary enrichment classes including teacher assistance, music programs, a computer lab and physical education.

“The final count of what we raised isn’t in yet . . . but looks like it’s going to be our best year yet,” said Matthew Rodman, parent and event organizer.

Download the movie

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?