LATHROP – Parents of Lathrop Elementary School students continue to pound the pavement to make their spring fund-raising project a success.

The parents are hoping to raise $10,000 or more to complete the installation of the school’s surveillance camera system for the security of all students. The project has already spent $40,000 which the school obtained from a grant with many of the cameras installed; however, an additional $27,000 more is needed to complete it.

The Spring King and Queen Fiesta & Mexican-American food buffet – or  El Rey y la Reina de la Primavera – is being put together by volunteer parents who started planning for the event at the beginning of the year. Tickets to the celebration are just $1 apiece or six for $5. They are available at the school office or from any of the parents.

In addition to the Mexican-American food smorgasbord, there will be a Spring King and Fiesta Queen selected from each grade to reign over the extravaganza. The winners will be the students who sell the most number of tickets. The parents are also trying to drum up donations from businesses in Lathrop and Manteca as well as city officials, some of whom are expected to attend the event.

To maximize their proceeds, the parent group spearheading the fund-raiser is asking other parents to bring donations such as plates the day of the event, as well to step up and volunteer in the preparation of food and clean-up that day. They will also gladly accept cash donations on top of the ticket prices.

The parents said they are mobilizing themselves “for the safety of our kids” after security breaches happened at the school last year. One of the scary incidents happened when a student who was in the bathroom was accosted by a man, described as an outsider, who exposed himself to the scared youngster. It happened not during normal school hours but during one of the after-school programs being held on campus. Lathrop Elementary is the site for several after-school programs including Give Every Child a Chance tutoring and Boys and Girls Club activities.

The gym or multi-purpose room is located on the southwest corner of Fifth Street and O Street next to the school. The school telephone number is (209) 858-7250 if you have any questions about the tickets.