And it can highlight how school districts struggling for community involvement can fall even further behind. It has become increasingly important to find money for programs that schools say will keep their students competitive once in the working world.

“It exacerbates the differences between school districts,” said Paul Minorini, president of Boys Hope Girls Hope, a youth advocacy organization. “And it puts a premium on those alternative revenue sources which school districts didn’t explore in the past.”

GROWING CONNECTIONS

Kirkwood has one of the region’s oldest school district foundations, created 25 years ago, while those such as Ferguson-Florissant are just starting. But in the last decade, area public schools have begun to see just how powerful a tool a foundation can become, moving from awarding teachers small grants to large-scale fundraising from major donors or corporations. Public charter schools have done the same, taking a cue from private schools, and hosting swanky galas and silent auctions with big-ticket items.

In Ladue, the school district’s foundation is looking to help find donors to make major renovations to the high school.