On July 15, an anonymous benefactor donated $30,000 to the Save the 7th Period campaign and promised to match dollar for dollar any other funds that the committee raised. To date, the group has raised approximately $65,000, which the donor will also match, bringing the total to $160,000. The committee still needs to raise $20,000, but that's a significant amount less than the $135,000 the committee thought it needed before the donation. The committee goal is $200,000.

When the donation was announced during the district's school board meeting, the room of more than 100 parents, teachers and students broke out into thunderous applause.

"I just feel really happy this has worked out," said a smiling Roberta Zarea, co-chairwoman of the Save the 7th Period Committee. "We all worked together on this to make it happen."

The joint efforts included that of Campbell Union High School Superintendent Rhonda Farber, who worked to secure a donation from an anonymous philanthropist who has helped the district in the past.

When Save the 7th Period Committee co-chairwoman Jorey Beamesderfer learned about the donation, she was "elated and relieved."

"Rhonda Farber really came through for us," she said. "I think this may be a new era in cooperation between the community and the district."

The Campbell Union High School District decided that beginning fall 2004 it will impose a six-period cap on the number of classes students can take per year. Upon hearing the news, parents and students mobilized in an effort to raise $200,000—the amount of the shortfall—by July 31 to keep the cap from being implemented.

Parents were concerned that limiting students to only six classes would make them less attractive candidates for university admission. The cap would mean that students will have to choose core classes over electives such as band, art and sports.

The parents and board struck a deal in early June that if the committee could raise the money before Aug. 1, the district would rescind the six-class cap. But the parents only had two months to raise the money

Prior to the July 15 donation, the committee was $135,000 short of its goal, and Beamesderfer said there was talk among some of the parents that they would need to ask the school board for an extension on the July 31 deadline.

Even with a slew of fundraising events—car washes, book sales, jewelry sales and concerts—things weren't looking good.

But fortunately in the 11th hour everything fell into place. Not only did Farber manage to secure the donation, but the school board went one step further by voting to place an $85 parcel tax on the November 2004 ballot, which would be assessed over a five-year period.

The parcel tax—Measure Q—will require a two-thirds majority vote for passage. And if it succeeds, the measure will help fund the district's enrichment programs, which under the Save the 7th Period campaign are only funded for one year.

With a strong sense of community that has developed through the Save the 7th Period campaign, Beamesderfer said the committee would support the parcel-tax measure.

Campbell Union High School District board member Henri Zander said the board understood that limiting the number of classes wasn't ideal, but the economic and budgetary situation made it necessary.

"We have always tried to make our cuts elsewhere and keep them out of the classroom," he said. "But this time there was nothing left to cut. The situation was really that brutal."

To make a tax-deductible donation, write a check to "CUHSD" and write "For 7th period" on the memo line. Send the check to Save 7th Period—CUHSD, P.O. Box 7108, San Jose, CA 95150. For more information or to volunteer, send email to savecuhsd@yahoo.com or visit the website at http://www.save7thperiodcuhsd.energ etic.com.