Restaurants to boost school district budget

A group of girls leads a march, organized by Save Our Neighborhood Schools, on Saturday from Liberty Hall, 644 Mass., down Massachusetts Street. Hundreds of students and parents turned out to protest the Lawrence school board’s consideration of closing some elementary schools to close a budget shortfall.

The Lawrence Originals restaurants

• 23rd Street Brewery

• Bambino’s Italian Cafe

• Biggs BBQ

• Buffalo Bob’s Smokehouse

• Genovese

• Global Cafe

• India Palace

• Johnny’s Tavern, Johnny’s West

• La Parrilla

• Local Burger

• Marisco’s

• Pachamamas Restaurant

• Paisano’s Ristorante

• Set ’em Up Jack’s

• TEN

• Wheat State Pizza

• Zen Zero

• Zig & Mac’s

Donations to help the Lawrence school district battle its budget crisis aren’t pouring in.

Still, there are plenty of avenues for people to help, including by eating next Tuesday and Wednesday at 19 Lawrence restaurants that will donate proceeds to the district as it faces a $5 million budget shortfall because of the state’s budget crisis.

“The school board is facing some really tough decisions right now with the cuts they need to do,” said Constance Wolfe, founder of the Lawrence GiveBack Program. “We’re doing everything we can to support them.”

Susan Esau, executive director of the Lawrence Schools Foundation, said Wednesday only one family had donated so far after the announcement last week the district had set up a budget assistance fund.

She said the lack of donations has not discouraged the district because the foundation encouraged donors to wait and contribute after the school board identifies its budget cuts in March or April.

“We’d be better able to meet our donors’ intent if we all wait,” Esau said. “Then we can all look at specific programs and specific price tags.”

A group of 19 restaurants known as the Lawrence Originals has been donating 5 percent of purchases made through the GiveBack program every Tuesday and Wednesday this month.

So far the program has only raised a little more than $300, but Wolfe said she hoped a recent push could spur more people to go out to eat next Tuesday and Wednesday to donate.

If diners present their GiveBack cards to servers, the restaurant will donate 5 percent of their tab to the school fund.

Wolfe said people who don’t have cards can get one for free at the restaurants. Card owners can also go online at lawrencegiveback .com and select the “general school fund” as their beneficiary.

It’s modeled after a program at the restaurants in the last year that has donated about $60,000 to local charities and agencies.