Mount Washington Friends Hope to Ease Pain of Budget Cuts

"People say Mount Washington Elementary School gets too much attention," said Fernando Orozco, sitting in Antigua Coffee House in Cypress Park on Thursday morning. "I don't think it gets enough."

As the new President of the Friends of Mount Washington Elementary School, it's Orozco's job to ensure that the spotlight is always on . That means not only spreading the good word about the accomplishments of the school's students, but also calling upon the generosity of the neighborhood's residents when the school faces a financial crisis.

Regardless of how much attention the school gets or deserves, there's one thing that it could undeniably use more of right now--money.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is facing a $408 million deficit for the coming school year, which has resulted in painful projected cuts across all of the district's schools.

At Mount Washington, those cuts include the laying off of three teachers, one office clerk, numerous teaching assistants and after school programs and the reduction of a nursing position to only one day per month.

Orozco, who is in his first year as president of the Friends, is hoping the group can help reduce the pain of those cuts through an aggresive fundraising campaing.

Gone are the days of "cupcakes and pumpkin patches" and "going around the neighborhood and knocking on doors," as he puts it. In their places, Orozco has established a highly organized and connected team to head up the administration of the Friends, whose mission it is to reach out to the talented and wealthy denizens of the neighborhood.

Also gone is the group's former logo, a smiling ping pong ball, replaced by the image of a green tree high atop a mountain.

"We want to do the sort of things that will invite the business leaders and community members to get involved," Orozco said.

Among the upcoming events planned by the Friends is a Night of Comedy on Friday, April 29 from 6:30 until 10 p.m. at the Los Angeles River Center and Gardens in Cypress Park.

In addition to the three scheduled comedians, Orozco said he's also recruited some local bartenders to create a trio of cocktails especially for the evening. He's hoping to keep the names and ingredients of the drinks under wraps, for now, but said one of them would be called the Valentini, after Mount Washington Elementary principal Elizabeth Valentino.

Community members who want to donate, but cannot make it to the event, are encouraged to make donations ahead of time, Orozco said.

Another fundraising tactic Orozco is using to encourage donations is to make it explicitly clear where all the donated funds would go.

For example, through a $1,250 donation, donors can pay for one week of teaching assistant time. For $1,000 they can help save a month's worth of Focus Fish, an after school physical education program. Those donors will also receive VIP tickets to the Night of Comedy and be listed as a sponsors on all of the Friends printed promotional materials. 

Orozco said he sees the group's mission as distinct from Mount Washington's other powerful parent group--the Mount Washington PTA.

"We support them and do our best to ensure we're not duplicating efforts," he said. "We see our goals as different, though. They're working to reach out to parents and to provide programs for kids. We're more focused on fundraising and reaching out to the community at large, not just parents."

For example, Orozco said he's quick to point out to community members without students in the schools that their property values are in part related to the API scores of Mount Washington Elementary.

"That always gets their attention," he said.

Orozco is a self-proclaimed complainer who has no reservations about standing in front of groups of people and attempting to rally support. Those who don't frequently attend events in Mount Washington might, for example, recognize Orozco as one of CD 14 City Council Challenger Rudy Martinez's loudest and most adamant supporters.

As the Friends is a non-profit entity, they are strictly prohibited from taking partisan political action. However, Orozco seems willing to apply the same kind of fervor to supporting the school as he did to Martinez's campaign.

"I'm a complainer, but there's only so much complaining you can do before you have to get off the easy chair and get involved," he said. "I consider myself a parent advocate."