Non-profits join to push for school funds

Davidson County Several Nashville non-profits are joining to help raise awareness and encourage people to advocate for more money for public schools. Friends of Metro Schools debuted Thursday at Dan Mills Elementary. It includes Stand for Children, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Interdenominational Ministerial Fellowship and other partners. The groups are uniting to raise community awareness about funding issues through e-mail alerts about legislation that affects school funding. The hope is an educated community will take action by writing local and state lawmakers, said Marc Hill, chief education officer for the Chamber of Commerce. Hill said the group won't weight in on policy issues, such as standard school attire or year-round school. The focus will be getting dollars for Metro schools, he said. For more information, parents can log on to www.stand.org/friendsofmetroschools or e-mail friends@stand.org. Metro school officials are asking for $613.7 million in next year's budget to continue services to students, and an extra $13 million to add new programs and personnel to help the district meet state requirements for the first time in four years. — JAIME SARRIO jsarrio@tennessean.com