SUQUAMISH — Raising private funds to pay for public education is commonplace all over the state, and the North Kitsap School District is no exception.

On Saturday, parents from Suquamish Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Student Association will gather at Wing Point Golf and Country Club on Bainbridge Island for the school’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

The annual auction and dinner, as well as other fundraisers throughout the year, are essential parts of the school’s budget. Without them, several programs not fully funded by the school district would likely be on the chopping block.

“Any of those things, depending on the district’s ability to fund those, are subject to being cut,” Suquamish Elementary Principal Joe Davalos said. “If I want to have the same things next year that I have this year, I’m going to have to find the money for it.”

Programs paid for partially or fully with private money include reading and math labs, a homework club, chess club and the school’s safety patrol, among others.

“Those are the first things that get cut, and those are the first things the parents want,” Suquamish PTSA Vice President Michelle Patterson said.

But Davalos does not expect any programs to disappear completely in the next school year.

“I don’t anticipate cutting anything,” Davalos said. “If anything, we’d have the same stuff, but maybe on a smaller scale.”

The school district will not finalize its 2010-11 budget until May 7, but Superintendent Rick Jones said the district may have to trim about $700,000 from next year’s budget.

“That reduction would come, I would expect, from a variety of places,” Jones said. “It would come from different employees, it would come from programs.”

The Suquamish parent group raised close to $16,000 at last year’s auction and dinner, to keep several programs that otherwise may have been eliminated. But without much improvement in the economy and job market, Patterson is not sure what to expect this year.

“We were able last year to have a really successful auction, and we were able to save programs. And that’s what we’re hoping to do again this year,” she said. “It would be nice to get the same thing, but to be realistic, I wouldn’t expect that.”

Additional help comes from volunteers and grants. The Suquamish Tribe makes some of the gaming money it raises through the Clearwater Casino available to nonprofit organizations through an Appendix X grant. The school has benefited from such grants several times over the years.

Volunteers have also helped at the school, including during and after classes.

“Those kinds of things kind of fall in your lap,” Davalos said. “But I can’t count on those kinds of things.”

The best the school — and the district — can do right now is spend frugally and save wisely. The district’s budget shortfall for the 2010-11 school year would have been larger had it not saved a $400,00 cushion this year.

“We can start setting aside a little money at a time,” Davalos said.