The Coronado Schools Foundation (CSF) is returning $1,342,701 to Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) schools for the 2026–27 school year. The money funds STEM, arts, robotics and innovation programs across four campuses.
The foundation's biggest fundraiser, the 42nd Annual Gala & Benefit Auction, takes place Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Hotel del Coronado. Themed "The Golden Gala: A Night of Legacy & Luxury," the black-tie event in the Ocean Ballroom is sponsored by the Kato Family, according to the Coronado Eagle & Journal.
Gala proceeds support programs at Village Elementary, Silver Strand Elementary, Coronado Middle School and Coronado High School. That includes robotics and innovation labs, visual and performing arts, and hands-on enrichment, according to CSF.
The event traces back to 1985, when Carol Raiter, Sally Zoll, then-president Vicki Beaubien and executive director Ginger Cox turned a spaghetti-dinner idea into a black-tie affair at the Hotel del Coronado. They pulled it off in two months.
"We made around $40,000 that first year and were just thrilled," Zoll said in the Eagle & Journal.
Forty-one years later, the annual haul has grown more than thirtyfold.
This year's board president, Katie Hart, is continuing a family tradition. Her father, Pete Litrenta, served as CSF president during her senior year. Hart, a 1999 Coronado High School graduate, told the Eagle & Journal she has vivid memories of volunteering at the gala as a teenager, running manual credit card imprinters with carbon copies.
CSF President and CEO Ashley DeGree credited the Hotel del Coronado for making the tradition possible, noting the hotel provides the venue along with auction items and prizes each year.
Past themes have transformed the Ocean Ballroom into settings including a Kentucky Derby, a Havana night and a Masquerade on Bourbon Street. At last year's Secret Garden Gala, the Manning Family announced a $100,000 donation that Bob Plumb matched, bringing the total to $200,000, according to the CSF gala page.
Tickets and sponsorship details are listed at the CSF website.
