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The Burlingame Community for Education Foundation (BCE) was founded in 1981 to meet the funding needs of a district-wide plan to provide computer education at each school site. In the early nineties, BCE rebuilt the big toys and library collections throughout the District. Since 1999, we have been responsible for helping pay Library, Music, and Physical Education teacher salaries. Last year, in a return to our foundation roots, we raised $85,000 through our Fund-A-Bundle program and granted these funds to the District in order to update and improve the Media Center, Library and Technology capabilities at each of the six school sites. These funds have made a significant impact at each school site - enabling the purchase of new computers, software and other media. Teachers and students have already benefited from these investments with marked improvement in system availability, access to more relevant programs and overall improvements in the media centers. However, there is still more to do in order to fulfill the vision of creating a state-of-the-art media center and library at each site - one which attracts students as a central hub to their academic learning and social development. For this reason, this year's Fund-A-Bundle program will once again focus on these critical areas. Plans at each site include the purchase of hard-back books (particularly non-fiction), additional CD media to complement classroom curricula, further technology investments (PCs, routers, printers, wireless adapters, etc.), as well as the renewal of the district-wide support contract. Similar to last year, the money raised tonight will be allocated to each site based on a combination of enrollment as well as a fixed amount per site. The Principals will work with their local PTA and Site Councils in order to determine how best to utilize the money based on their respective site plan. BCE's only stipulation is that it must be spent on bundles that incorporate the focus around Library Services, Media Centers or Technology. Our target for this year is $60,000. In the event that we are able to raise more than this amount but have not raised enough at year-end to fund our core programs, BCE will direct the excess funds to our core programs in order to ensure that our Music, Physical Education and Library Specialists will return again next year. These library-media bundles are a long-term investment in our schools and will engage our children for years to come as they move from elementary to middle school. So tonight, when the auctioneer asks everyone in the room to contribute to this cause, please raise your paddle high and help us to continue to bring the world of information to our Burlingame kids!