Manhattan Beach families will see the direct benefit of a record $8,026,400 grant from the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation to the school district for the 2026-27 school year, funding educator positions and programs that were at risk during a bruising budget cycle.

The commitment, announced in MBEF's 2025-2026 Annual Report published Tuesday, Aug. 25, is the largest single-year investment in the foundation's 43-year history. It surpasses MBEF's previous annual fundraising goal of $5 million by more than 60%.

The money arrives at a critical moment. Manhattan Beach Unified faced a projected deficit exceeding $10 million earlier this year and drained its entire $4 million Economic Uncertainty Fund to stay solvent, according to Daily Breeze reporting from March. The district's board of trustees considered up to 80 potential layoffs.

MBEF said in its annual report that the grant will preserve educator positions, reduce class sizes and support programs across all MBUSD schools. According to the foundation's grants page, the $8 million covers six categories: class size reduction, counseling and support, literacy and writing, physical education, STEAM, and visual and performing arts.

At the elementary level, that means continued funding for music, physical education, MakerSpace, library and science lab programs, according to the MB News.

Two major fundraising efforts powered the total. By March, more than half of MBUSD families had contributed to the Annual Appeal, raising $5.2 million. The 32nd Annual Manhattan Wine Auction on June 6 drew over 2,400 guests and raised a record $2 million.

MBEF Executive Director Hilary Mahan, a Manhattan Beach resident for more than 30 years, has led the foundation through this growth period. Nathalie Rosen, an MBEF executive board member now running for the MBUSD school board, spoke to the broader budget pressures in an Aug. 19 MB News article about the November school board race. "Great schools don't stay great by accident … They take the teachers we keep, the programs we protect, and budgets families can see and trust," Rosen said.

The exact number of educator positions preserved by the grant has not been disclosed. MBEF has funded MBUSD schools since 1983.