Why was Friends of Mandarin Scholars (FMS) established as a separate organization from the PTA and SMFC Education Fund?

The Mandarin immersion program in the San Mateo Foster City School District was originally supported through federal magnet and Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) funds.  FMS was established in April 2011, in anticipation that community funds would be needed to provide long-term support once those funds were no longer available.  As an educational foundation, FMS has the express purpose of raising funds specifically to support the Mandarin immersion program within the San Mateo Foster City School District.  The SMFC Education Fund (also an educational foundation) raises funds to support all students in the district, so it could not raise funds specifically for the Mandarin immersion program since not all students in the district benefit from the program in the same way.   The PTA is a membership organization and part of a national organization, bound by strict by-laws which dictate how fundraising is achieved and how funds are implemented into programs.