The Lawrence Schools Foundation is reaching out to former students in an effort to counteract state budget cuts to education.

The foundation last week kicked off its first-ever fund-raising drive targeting public school alumni.

“The current education financing issue has created a critical situation for our district,” said Mike Maddox, president of the foundation’s board of trustees. “School dollars are scarce, programs are being cut, teachers are being let go, and the students will suffer as a result.”

Unlike previous campaigns, which have targeted parents and district staff members, this drive included letters sent to 500 former Lawrence students, most of whom continue to live in the Lawrence area. Letters were mailed Friday.

“This is such a great community, and people care so much about Lawrence,” said Susan Hazlett, the foundation’s executive director. “We thought the alumni here probably would like to get involved.”

Srinija Srinivasan, a 1989 Lawrence High School graduate who now is editor-in-chief of Yahoo! Inc., recently donated $10,000 as a challenge to other alumni. Her contribution will go to the Teacher Innovation Grants program, which provides money to teachers for special classroom projects.

“As the level of excellence in public education becomes increasingly rare, I feel committed to doing my part to sustain a high bar in Lawrence, and in doing so, help Lawrence continue to lead by example,” Srinivasan said in a news release.

Hazlett said the foundation’s goal was to meet or surpass $10,000 in additional donations by the start of the 2004-2005 school year.

In addition to the Teacher Innovation Grants program, donations can go to the areas of early-childhood education, staff development and recognition and leadership development. The foundation also accepts unrestricted contributions.

“We’re trying to get the idea out that everybody benefits from great public schools,” Hazlett said. “That’s our tag line, that it doesn’t matter whether you have kids in school or not, or if you’re a teacher, success in the community is reflected by success in public schools.”

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