Leaders of the Menlo Park Atherton Education Foundation are hoping the foundation's annual auction, set for Saturday, April 24, will help the Menlo Park City School District offset its budget deficit.

The event, "Rock the Foundation," will be held from 7 to 11:30 p.m. at the Computer History Museum, 1401 North Shoreline Blvd. in Mountain View. There will be live music, dancing, and a silent auction, which allows community members to bid on getaways, dinner and cocktail parties, teacher-student parties, and admission to sporting events.

The nonprofit foundation has raised funds for the school district for 28 years, and the annual auction has been its major event, according to volunteer Valerie Ambwani.

In the face of possible teacher layoffs due to drastic budget cuts in the district, the foundation has added a new component to this year's auction: Fund-A-Teacher.

"This year, as the district faces such severe budget issues, we are focusing more on the basics, such as our Fund-A-Teacher segment to keep our teachers," Scott Lohmann, the foundation's co-president, said in a press release.

For more information or to purchase tickets, go to www.mpaef.org.

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