Parent-led fundraiser builds momentum in effort to support struggling Palm Valley School

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (KESQ) – A fundraiser organized by the Friends of Palm Valley raised concern among parents and families this week.

The fundraiser, which had amassed about $275,000 in pledges as of Wednesday morning, was created to support Palm Valley School, a private preschool to 12th grade institution in Rancho Mirage. The school has ranked among the best in the region.

Some of the parents behind the fundraiser, though, pointed to the quick support from other parents and alumni. They first began receiving messaging about the school's troubles and restructuring in emails last week, and since then, they created the website, fundraiser, and parents had pledged about 20% of the goal they set.

The parents said the momentum gave them hope and confidence the school would weather the challenges it currently faces.

The organizers of the fundraiser wrote on the website:

"We are facing an urgent moment. Like many private schools in the United States, PVS is dealing with serious headwinds and economic challenges as it works to secure its future for upcoming generations of students. The reality is many private schools are closing, and this could be the case for Palm Valley as well. This fundraiser is being organized by the incredible and dedicated PVS community, who love their school and are determined to ensure it continues to provide the best education possible for many years to come."

The school declined to comment when we reached out to them on Wednesday. We're continuing to work to confirm this information with the school.

We spoke with two Palm Valley School parents: Tamara Canedo-Lifschutz and Elena Bulatova. The two represented a group of other parents spearheading the fundraiser and shared their thoughts about how important the school is to their families.

"When you think about a child's development, you want the best education there is for our children," said Canedo-Lifschutz, who said the school was certainly her top pick for her family. "The level of education is priceless and you really won't know until you step foot on the grounds."

We asked the two of them if there was a worry among parents that they might lose the opportunity to bring their kids to the school.

Bulatova answered, "We think it is such a great movement right now from the community, is such a great support from alumni and different organizations."

Canedo-Lifschutz followed, "As of right now, I don't have the losing mentality. We have the mentality that we restructure, we reorganized, we will prevail."