In the state House, Republicans and Democrats disagree over how much the proposed bill will help schools in light of expiring federal education spending money.  Meanwhile, WFDD's  Kathryn Mobley reports that one non-profit organization, Students Helping Students, found a creative way to help some public schools stretch their budgets and get the resources they need.

Mineral Springs Elementary has a population of 675 and is nestled in a low income neighborhood off Motor Road in Winston-Salem. School Counselor Michael Nuckolls says unfortunately, most parents can’t fill the gap.  “Some of our families have multiple jobs and they do struggle. About 96% of our students are on free or reduced lunch so that puts them well below the poverty line.”  But Nuckolls says Mineral Springs is getting help...from people in a PA school system –total strangers.

A few months ago, Bidding selected from a list books what the small library needed.  And last month, the School District of Radnor Township in Wayne, Pennsylvania sent 130 books for K-5th graders. Popular titles such as the Arthur books," says Bidding. "We have worn out copies of Harry Potter so this was a steal to get a copy of The Chamber of Secrets, and an entire set of animal reference books in good condition. I see some other books with Native American titles and they’re not always easy to get.”  According to Bidding, this will save the school about 300-dollars. 

Bridging these two schools is the non-profit group Students Helping Students, founded by Wake Forest University Senior Bill Zandi.  It enables affluent schools to donate their used supplies to public K-12 schools in need.  Zandi got the idea in 2005 when he was a high school freshmen in Philadelphia. He’d spent hours watching television coverage of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.

“I wanted to help those people," says Zandi, "so I called the state education department of Louisiana.  They said the furnishings and supplies within the 9th Ward and throughout New Orleans were completely devastated, and if they couldn’t find a substitute those children could not attend school. At the same time, my school, Great Valley High School right outside of Philadelphia, was going through a renovation period. So I asked if I could take these furnishings and supplies and send them down to the students who needed them in New Orleans, and they said sure.”

So he raised 25-hundred dollars and sent two tractor trailers full of desks, computers, chairs, books and other supplies to about nine schools in the 9th Ward.

According to Zandi, there’s an abundance of public schools in need. The challenge is finding affluent schools getting rid of supplies and in a charitable mood.  He's identified roughly 33,000 private schools nationwide.  He says he sends them an e-mail describing what Students helping Students is all about. "If you have any excess supply of furnishings, please don’t hesitate to contact us," he writes. "They’ll put them up for sell but usually they don’t, so then I scoop up what I can and send it on its way.”

He also tries to link schools in the same district to reduce transportation costs. Grants and donations cover most of SHS’s expenses.

According to Zandi, since 2005, this group has funneled thousands of dollars’ worth of supplies to 25 hard-pressed schools and libraries in Louisiana, Florida, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. Now Zandi has partners, and they all work pro-bono.  One is Andrew DeJoya in Philadelphia.  "I grew up with him," Zandi says, "and I have three Wake students who are working with me, Ryan Derfy, Park Leatherman and Grant Gilbert.  I trust them a lot and they all bring something different to the table. Some bring more businesslike aspects, some bring creativity and they can all add something to the mission.”