The state budget crisis continues to take its toll on public education, creating a $23.8 million shortfall for the Irvine Unified School District alone. In response, the nonprofit Irvine Public Schools Foundation has launched a five-week campaign to raise money for classroom support in 2010-11. IPSF has announced that all funds collected between now and March 1 will be used to lessen the impacts of class-size increases. While the Board of Education would make the final determination as to how the dollars would be used, a similar effort two years ago empowered schools to provide direct support in the form of classroom aides and additional teaching hours. Unfortunately, there isn’t much time to act this time around. Because IUSD and the Board are facing critical budget deadlines, the funding must be in place by March 1. Remember that the Irvine Public Schools Foundation is the only organization with the resources to impact every school in our district. Moreover, IPSF is underwriting the cost of this latest fundraising effort to ensure that 100 percent of the dollars received go directly to support students. Parents and community members are encouraged to learn more about the foundation and its five-week campaign by logging on to www.ipsf.net. For more information on the state budget and its impact on IUSD, click here.