The author reports on how cash-strapped school districts turn to outside groups for help in paying for staff and academic essentials, prompting frustration from some. In states and school districts still struggling to recover from recession-induced funding cuts, parent and community groups are feeling the pressure to raise money for instructional staff, academic programs, and other services that districts once fully paid for but can no longer afford. Today's fundraising efforts help with far more than classroom supplies or extras. In some places, dollars raised by PTAs and independent education foundations are supporting music and arts instruction, library resources, and professional development. Spurred in part by frustration about that changing role, many of those groups have also increased advocacy efforts targeted at overhauling state and federal policies they believe have underfunded public education. Meanwhile, the flood of private dollars into school-level operations and essentials has exacerbated long-standing debates about equity between schools and districts. In response, some communities have tried to encourage equity of resource distribution, while others have avoided taking any action that might squelch contributions they're relying on more and more.