Posted: Wed, 11 Mar 2015 10:00 PM - 35,078 Readers

By: Rachel Rice

The Lake Travis Education Foundation 2015 Bowties and Butterflies Gala raised spirits and even more funding than expected for the Lake Travis school district.

Every year, Lake Travis community leaders attend the formal gala in tuxedoes and gowns to socialize, eat, dance and bid in the silent and live auction at the Renaissance Austin hotel at the Arboretum. All money donated and raised through the auctions goes toward Lake Travis schools, for projects and supplies the district can’t otherwise fund.

“We’re lucky in Lake Travis to have this number of people come get dressed up on a Saturday night and spend a lot of money, all of which goes to the school district,” Superintendent Brad Lancaster said. “It’s fun to eat a good meal and dance and bid on items, and at the end of the day 100 percent goes to the students.”


Local businesses contributed much of the silent auction items, including spa treatments, bottles of wine, toys for kids, framed signed jerseys, gourmet meals and exercise classes. The gala is the biggest event of the year for the foundation.

“In the past, we worked with teachers to write grants and the foundation would decide what to fund,” Lake Travis High School Principal Kim Brents said. “Now when they collect (donations), they divide them per student. Since the high school has just under 2,700 kids we get the most. I have a grant committee of teachers and we decide what to fund, and the foundation approves projects. Last year, the high school got $50,000 for iPads and laptops. It really benefits the kids.”

During the live auction, gala goers bid on a puppy, a painting, a party boat trip, a guitar and concert ticket package and a couple luxurious trips. The live auction alone brought about $90,000, LTEF President Troy Mechura said. The silent auction brought in about $43,000, LTEF Executive Director Suzanne Stone said, and community members gave $32,000 in straight donations that night alone. The silent auction allowed people to participate electronically from their homes as well, she said.

“I feel like the community has really embraced the foundation,” Stone said. “I feel like it is a great statement to how much the community understands what’s happening in our schools in supporting the difference in what we’re able to have in state funding and what it really costs us to educate a child. The community is stepping up and saying ‘hey, we’re going to make that difference up – we’re going to be the difference.’”

Due to state funding cuts, Mechura told the gala audience members, the district was still running a deficit.

“We were counting on a successful event this year because the school district still faces a budget deficit for the current year of roughly $200 per student or $1.7 million total,” Mechura said in an email. “Last year, we had $28 million taken out of the district by the state. Fundraisers like the LTEF Gala – and our upcoming Butterfly Brunch on April 23 – help fund educational programs for the district that otherwise would not be possible.”