A non-profit organization that aims to strengthen and support Berkeley High School released its annual report for 2007-08, showing that they were only able to raise about half a million dollars last year to fund various programs.

The Berkeley High School Development Group raised nearly $578,000 in donations for 2007-08 through its Annual Fund campaign, a record amount in its fundraising history.

“We try to make one million every year, but this year it’s tough,” said Susan Helmrich, co-president of the development group. “It sounds like a lot of money, but it’s really not, it could go in a minute. We raise money to support projects and programs that would otherwise not get funded.”

Funds that were raised went toward supplemental programs such as after-school tutoring, scholarships, technology needs, classroom grants to teachers and other school necessities.

The development group was established in 1982 by a group of parents who wanted to raise money for Berkeley High’s music and arts programs, which had experienced drastic budget cuts at the time. Since then, the mission has changed to support academic excellence, and the group has played an essential role in raising money for the high school.

“The district doesn’t really have any connection to the development group,” said Mark Coplan, spokesperson for the Berkeley Unified School District. “High schools (are) just a third of our population. They really have to self-manage. We give them the same support that we would give everybody else.”

The development group’s goal to raise one million dollars was partially in response to budget cuts. This year, $2.5 million was cut from the budget and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new proposal would cut another $3.5 million mid-year, Coplan said.

“I think that (the development group is) also important in an economic situation like (this),” Coplan said. “An organization like that is really important to keeping the richness of resources flowing.”

The campaign was also was formed to answer to the high school’s needs. Berkeley High’s population has grown to include more than 3,200 students and 200 teachers. When the money raised is divided by that population, each student only gets a small amount of money, Helmrich said.

She said it is too early to determine whether they will reach their one million dollar quota for the upcoming year.

“We’ve gotten very little this year-last year we raised a significant amount of money, but this year towards our one million, we haven’t had a lot yet,” Helmrich said. “We don’t know yet how well we’ll do.”

To raise money, the development group sends out a spring letter to parents and carries out three or four community events throughout the year. In June, the development group raised a large portion of its money through a silent and live auction called “Berkeley High Live!”

“We do both big and small events that can both be community builders and … raise money,” Helmrich said.Tags: BERKELEY HIGH SCHOOL