There are many ways that Berkeley Unified School District is able to help fund things at Berkeley High School, such as field trips, testing, and other resources. However, there are many instances where they haven’t been able to fund everything. BHS Developement Group (BHSDG) was founded in 1991 and is a group that funds projects that support BHS, Berkeley Technology Academy, and BHS Independent Study students, and help promote equity, student well-being, and academics within the school system.
In 2026, BHSDG will be celebrating its 35th anniversary. However, this is coming at the same time that the group is facing serious issues with budget cuts coming from the district. Between this last school year and this school year, the district has had a $15 million cut from its budget for the whole district, which affects BHS heavily.
Overall, BHSDG fills funding gaps that the district may have. “BHSDG is the only group that is focused solely on fundraising to support the high school ... this means that we do things that help to address equity, help to ensure academic excellence, and help to drive student engagement and community,” Stacey Hara said. Hara is a member of the development committee for BHSDG, which focuses on fundraising for the group.
“We’re certainly aware that this (budget cuts) is going on, and so we’re doing everything in our power to fundraise and then try to help fill in the gaps. Then we talk to the principal. We talk to leaders in the community to see where the needs are, or see where the gaps are. We then try to help fill in,” Elizabeth Stuart, the president of BHSDG, said. The group is able to find gaps by looking at BHS programs, staff, and the differences in funding that have occurred. This influences their decisions on where to reallocate grants and resources.
Students, teachers, and staff can apply for grants from the development group. The application process includes stating your idea, what you would like the grant for, and also connecting your idea to their mission of promoting equality, academics, and engagement. Examples of why people or groups may apply for a grant from BHSDG include completing funding for a school field trip, college application costs, paying for SAT testing, and much more. BHSDG has a grant selection committee, which looks at applications.
One grant that was especially important last year was a $60,000 grant to the BHS College and Career Center to support all of the programs that they have for juniors and seniors, including overall help and the college application process. Additionally, they provided funds for 24 BHS students to be able to tour Historically Black Colleges and Universities to help them understand college life and help encourage them in their application process.
BHSDG also includes student representatives who are a part of the Associated Student Body Leadership team at BHS. There are four representatives who work with BHSDG, students, staff, and Principal Juan Raygoza. “Our job is to bridge perspectives between the student body and the adults who are able to supply us with grants and other things. So we really work to kind of humanize the grant system,” Ali Forbush, a senior and BHSDG student representative, said.
Issues such as budget cuts encourage BHSDG members to fundraise as much as possible, so they can help as many students, teachers, and staff as possible. “We know that we face other kinds of looming threats of budget cuts that threaten those pillars of equity and excellence and engagement. So we are asking for the community to dig into their pockets in any way that is meaningful for them,” Hara said. Supporting BHSDG comes in many forms, be it spreading the word about the organization or students asking family members to donate.
Much of their support comes from donations. In the past, BHSDG has had a budget of around $500,000 a year with over 1,300 donors. “There’s no donation too small to help us to ensure that we are able to continue to support (BHS), not just at the level we have in past years, but perhaps even a little bit more,” Hara said.