Lupin PFC helps pay for teachers

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers MISSION ACCOMPLISHED- Teachers adjust a rocket as it tracks the success of the recent Lupin Elementary School Parent Faculty Club fundraiser, "Reach for the Stars." The three-week contest raised $88,000 to help pay for salaries and supplies for physical education, music, art and computer teachers.

The Lupin Hill Elementary Parent Faculty Club raised more than $88,000 in a three-week contest which ended Oct. 18. Proceeds from the contest, which was called "Reach for the Stars," will be applied to a PFC budget of $143,000 needed to pay for the salaries and supplies of the music, art, physical education and computer teachers at the school.

The state doesn't supply the funds to pay for these types of teachers, said Lesli Kraut, PFC president.

The PFC will host an ice cream party for every class that turned in 100 percent of their fundraising envelopes. Each child who turned in an envelope was entered into a raffle to win a Nintendo product.

Additional fundraisers, such as the school carnival in April and the jog-athon in May, will help pay for the rest of the teacher budget.

"Lupin Hill has an amazing group of parents who work very hard toward our goals, but it can be stressful knowing that we contract with our teachers for the school year but we don't have enough money in reserve to pay for a full year of salaries," Kraut said.