Frequently Asked Questions

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PFCs (Parent Faculty Clubs) and PFSOs (Parent Faculty and Student Organizations) are volunteer community organizations that support individual schools through fundraising and specific initiatives geared towards enrichment and extracurricular needs. 

Dublin Education Alliance (DEA) is a district-wide not for profit education foundation focused on addressing the larger, more systemic needs of a school district like DUSD. We look beyond the scope of individual schools to ensure equitable opportunities for all students in Dublin, regardless of which school they attend.  The DEA focuses on closing the gaps in state budget shortall impacting DUSD. 

As the PFCs and Dublin Education Alliance have different missions, this will not take away from the Parent Faculty Clubs at each school. PFCs parent volunteers run organizations that play a vital role in supporting the needs of individual schools, while Dublin Education Alliance tackles district-wide challenges like state budget shortfall affecting DUSD right now. Dublin Education Alliance wants to support essential programs such as counseling, health services, administration and academic support staff, student intervention and more. Our goal is to ensure comprehensive support for all students. 

Dublin Partners in Education (DPIE) has a distinct mission focused on enriching the academic experience through business partnerships, after-school, and summer programs. DPIE is a fee for service model.  Families pay a fee to send their child to a DPIE program.  The Dublin Education Alliance, however, is focused specifically on closing gaps created by budget cuts that directly affect student well-being, mental health, and academic support. Dublin Education Alliance directly funds the spending gaps that DUSD faces in the district’s multi-year budget. 

Dublin Education Alliance works hard to provide all donors with transparency about our donation process and our fundraising priorities. The district does not control Dublin Education Alliance funds; our board, composed of community leaders and parents, makes those allocations and decisions. Dublin Education Alliance works closely with DUSD to determine which priority programs your donations can best address.  

Yes, every dollar raised directly impacts students. While $500,000 won’t fill the entire budget gap, it allows us to restore key programs that would otherwise be lost. This funding helps preserve mental health services, counselors, and intervention programs that are crucial for student success. Every bit of support helps mitigate the long-term effects of these cuts.

The initial funds will be directed toward maintaining critical student support programs that face immediate cuts, such as mental health counselors, intervention specialists, and classroom aides. We are prioritizing programs that have the most direct impact on student well-being and academic achievement. 

While the district faces a $10 million shortfall, every dollar we raise helps reduce the impact of cuts. Ideally, raising $1–2 million would allow us to preserve many vital services. However, even reaching our initial goal of $500,000 can significantly improve student outcomes by protecting key resources like counselors, aides, and intervention programs.

Even if your child doesn’t need intervention services, they still benefit from a well-supported school environment. By providing students who need intervention with the support they need, all the students in the classroom have more educator attention and support. Programs like counseling and academic support contribute to a more wholesome and healthy classroom environment for all students. Overall student well-being, a positive school culture, and improved outcomes benefit everyone. A stronger school system creates a better educational experience for all students, including your child.

Counselors do far more than provide individual services. They play a critical role in supporting the emotional well-being of the entire student body, managing crisis situations, offering college and career guidance, and implementing programs that promote a safe and supportive learning environment. Even if your student doesn’t directly use these services, the presence of counselors benefits the overall health and stability of the school community. Without counselors' students who need these supports would then need support from their teachers and administrators leaving them less time to focus on their other functions. 

DUSD, like many public-school districts, faces significant financial challenges due to rising costs and limited state funding due to budget cuts at the state level. Additionally, due to the slowdown in our district's population growth, we are no longer getting an infusion of funds from the state for incoming students year on year. This confluence of events has led to the recent budget cuts. Unfortunately, these budget shortfalls result in cuts to the world-class education programs that DUSD has been providing. Dublin Education Alliance is aiming to reduce the budget shortfall through the community coming together to support our students. 

There was specific effort to recruit Board members from both West and East Dublin, as well as from the greater Dublin community.  Our Board is a strong reflection of all of Dublin.

There is no conflict of interest for someone to serve on two boards. A conflict of interest is when an individual receives personal benefit (money, contract, etc.) for serving on a board.  Neither the PFC or Dublin Education Alliance provide any type of stipend or payment to their Board of Directors or board members. 

DPIE is a fee for service model.  Parents pay a fee to have their child participate in a DPIE program.  The Dublin Education Alliance mission is to help fill the budget gap created by reduced state education funding. 

DEA is registered with the California Secretary of State and we have submitted our  501(c)(3) application for tax-exempt status.  We are waiting for the application to be processed. 

For the 2024/25 school year, DUSD reduced their expenditures by $4 million dollars.  In the current year, DUSD is identifying $5.5 million in reductions that will go into effect for the 2025/26 school year.  Any funds raised in the 2024/25 school year will support funding for the 2025/26 school year.

Dublin Education Alliance is focused on raising as much money as possible to support the DUSD budget shortfall caused by reduced state funding.  Dublin Education Alliance will focus on family donations, individual donations, corporate donations and grants from nonprofits, the state of California and Federal grants.

Dublin Education Alliance's goal is to help fill the gap in program funding.  For example, currently, every elementary school has a counselor.  If the district were to reduce half of the elementary counselors, Dublin Education Alliance's goal would be to fill that gap so that every elementary school has counselors.

 This was clearly a mathematical calculation based on if every family were able to contribute.  Not all families will be able to contribute, and some families are fortunate enough to contribute more. Dublin Education Alliance will also focus on getting corporate sponsorships, individual sponsorships and Dublin Education Alliance will be submitting grants when appropriate.  

The Board identified $4 million in reductions for the current 24/25 school year.  The $5.5 million reductions will be for the 25/26 school assuming there are no changes in budget assumptions: increased revenue from the state, future negotiated salary/benefit increase, etc.  DUSD does collaborate with other districts for CTE/ROP courses and belong to the Tri-Valley SELPA.