He's a world-renowned maestro who conducts the Cincinnati Pops. As state support shrinks and demand grows on public schools' money, private sources such as Mr. Kunzel are picking up bigger portions of public education's price tag. That private support is becoming increasingly important as residential flight to suburban areas leaves inner-city schools with shrinking resources.
Many educators applaud private efforts to solicit money for public schools.
But others say it widens the gap between rich and poor schools, because rich schools have more generous alumni and wealthier neighbors while poor schools see little private money. But school administrators say they don't have enough money in their budgets to support the programs and projects bolstered by school foundations and private donations. The private-funds movement started in California, where state Supreme Court rulings led to the redirection of property tax revenue and the creation of Proposition 13 in 1978. Proposition 13 capped local property taxes and limited the state's ability to raise taxes in an effort to bring equity to school funding. To compensate for the missing money, California school boards and parents created foundations to solicit donations from community groups and private companies.