FAQ

Q: What is the purpose of the Saratoga Education Foundation (SEF)? 

A. SEF was founded to expand district funding to provide enrichments to our students, aligned to community values. Our goal is to enhance our children’s education to make it more valuable and competitive. SEF is run by a board of directors who coordinate donations from families and local businesses to provide opportunities for the children of SUSD. 

Q: How are important decisions about SEF programs and budget made?
A: SEF programs and budget proposals are made by the SEF Board of Directors and decisions are voted on at the Association Meetings. All parents and legal guardians are invited to participate in discussions. Upon participating in two or more SEF Association Meetings, a SUSD parent or legal guardian gains membership and may vote during subsequent meetings. This ensures that the SEF remains a collaborative, community-driven organization.

Q: What does SEF fund beyond what the district provides? 

A: The programs we support may change based on SEF’s annual budget, the district’s budget and priorities, school curriculum needs and family and community feedback. For the school year 2024-2025, SEF is funding the makerspace and science labs aides at each of our 3 elementary schools and STEM for Redwood Middle School students. New for calendar year 2025, SEF is adding seminars for Redwood Middle School students, funding group transportation for elementary school field trips and is offering workshops targeted to parents and guardians of SUSD students. Starting with the 2025–2026 school year, SEF will fund all grade-level school trips and transportation for all three elementary schools and Redwood Middle School.

Q: What’s new for the 2025-2026 school year? 

A: For the new school year, SEF will fund the cost of all grade-level SUSD field trip admissions and provide group transportation for the 3 elementary schools and the middle school. SEF will continue to fund the makerspace and science lab aides, as well as the seminars for our middle school students and workshops targeted for parents, guardians, and families

Q: Why didn’t Redwood Middle School receive funding for group transportation for field trips in 2025? 

A: In the case of RMS, the field trip donations collected at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year covered both the cost of the field trip admissions and the cost of group transportation. Tracking down the donations by each family and executing reimbursement checks was not practical.  Therefore, for calendar year 2025 the group transportation budget for field trips was allocated to the elementary schools, eliminating the need for parent volunteer drivers. For the 2025-2026 school year, SEF will cover the cost of group transportation and field trip expenses for both elementary school and middle school students. 

Q: How are field trips and transportation organized?
A: Decisions on field trip destinations, scheduling, and securing the group transportation is the responsibility of each of the schools’ administration. If you have any questions about your students’ field trip, please contact your school’s administration.  

Q: My elementary school child has a field trip in 2025, but parent volunteer drivers were still requested.  Why? I thought SEF was funding buses starting in 2025.

A: This may have been a scheduling or an availability issue with the buses for some of the field trips that had pre-determined dates in 2025.  Moving forward, we expect this to be resolved with more time to plan and reserve the transportation with more lead time.     

Q: How does SEF manage its budget and endowment?
A: SEF manages its annual budget based on fundraising estimates, district needs, school curriculum priorities, and community feedback. Each year, the SEF Board works with school principals and district leaders to determine funding priorities that align with the greatest needs of students. SEF also maintains an endowment fund to create a long-term, sustainable source of funding to protect enrichment programs during times of unexpected budget shortfalls. SEF’s annual budget and endowment are reviewed at SEF Association meetings, where all SUSD parents and legal guardians are invited to attend, participate, and vote if eligible.

Q: What schools are part of the Saratoga Unified School District (SUSD) and covered by SEF programs? 

A: Argonaut Elementary School, Foothill Elementary School, Saratoga Elementary School, and Redwood Middle School. 

Q: What about Saratoga High School? 

A: Saratoga High School is part of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District.  There are instances where SEF collaborates with Saratoga High School/SHS PTSO on some workshops and costs are shared, but SEF is not scoped to cover the programs outside of SUSD.

Q: How is SEF different from my school’s PTA? 

A: SEF is focused on providing enrichment programs that ALL Saratoga Union School District students can access.  However, each school may offer additional community events, clubs, or other programs that are unique to the school. These would be covered under their respective PTA budgets. Each school has a PTA representative that engages with SEF but PTA and SEF have separate boards of directors.

Q: How do I donate? 

A: You may donate at this link: Saratoga Education Foundation - Family Donations via credit card, electronic check, PayPal, or a physical check. Multiply your impact by checking to see if your employer will match your donation. If you are a business owner, we welcome business sponsorships too. Thank you for your support. 

Q: How do I get involved or learn more about SEF? 

A: We welcome more community involvement.  Send an e-mail to info@sef-ca.org if you would like more information or want to get involved. Our SEF general meetings are open to the Saratoga community, and we invite you to join us.  The meeting dates and times are announced in our SEF newsletters.