"VIBE455" Gala Fundraiser for Topanga Enrichment Program, June 2

Despite the funding crisis in California Schools, Topanga Elementary remains one of the highest performing schools in the LAUSD, thanks to parent involvement and community support.

It is no secret that the State of California has made draconian cuts in the public school budget over the past five years. California is 46 out of 50 in per-student state funding and 50 in number of students per teacher-worst in the country!

Class sizes are now up to 39 students per classroom in grades 4-6 and more cuts are soon to come with the $16 billion projected state deficit. California is falling drastically behind in every educational measure for student success including: test scores and dropout rates.

Parent-led organizations such as Educate our State (www.educateourstate.org) are fighting for a quality education for our children. This will take time and is frankly an uphill battle so we need to do what we can now for our local school.

Fundraising has primarily come from parents at the school who donate their time and money and have a variety of events throughout the year. But our main fundraiser is the auction and gala.

This year's gala, VIBE455, will be on June 2, at the Topanga Community Center (TCC) and promises an evening full of live music from Topanga's own Susan James and her band, fresh food from Topanga Catering, plenty of libations, and a silent and live auction.

We will also be honoring Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky for his years of support of Topanga and the recent opening of our library.

Doors open at 5 p.m. Information and tickets are available at TopangaTEP.org, with a discounted price of $55/person if you buy tickets online. Parking will also be available at Topanga Elementary School with a free shuttle running all evening.

For more info: jbronste@ucla.edu, or shanihiland@mac.com.

One of the main reasons for our success is due to parental and community support. The Topanga Enrichment Program (TEP) is the parent-run non-profit organization that raises money to provide many important programs and services that used to be provided by the school district.

Specifically, TEP provides the funds for a science teacher, aides in the classrooms, funding to reduce class size, an art program, computers and a physical education teacher. Our operating budget has grown to more than $200,000/year and will approach $250,000 for next year due to further cuts in state funding.

We invite all of Topanga to VIBE455 to celebrate our children and help raise money to support our school.