Dozens of Alameda County schools are participating in "Step Up to the Plate for Education," which also is being offered in five other Northern California counties -- Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Sacramento, Stanislaus and San Joaquin.

Here's how "Step Up" works: Tickets have been made available through participating schools for nine specific games between April and August. Schools will receive $10 from every field-level seat sold for $25, or get a $6 cut for every plaza-level ticket sold for $16 each.

Most schools have given ticket buyers a March 19 deadline. But that deadline may be softened, some school representatives said, for games played later in the season.

"What better way to reach out and develop a fan base?" said Athletics employee Sean O'Keefe. "If we can help the schools and bring kids and parents out to the yard, it's win-win."

O'Keefe, the team's fund-raising developer, said schools have greeted the "Step Up to the Plate for Education" program enthusiastically.

"But the response of Alameda County schools has been the greatest. It makes sense, given that they're closest to where we play," O'Keefe said, referring to the Athletics' longtime home -- Network Associates
  Coliseum in Oakland.

Once they receive their cut from the A's, school faculty and booster groups are then free to choose underfunded areas for the money.

Washington Manor Middle School in San Leandro, for example, plans to spend income raised from A's ticket sales on new computers, said math and science teacher Bruce Johnson.

Johnson said the A's have streamlined the process by mailing the tickets directly to parents, and sending schools a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet on which to track the tickets.

It is too soon to estimate how many tickets the San Lorenzo district school will sell, Johnson added, but his goal is to sell about 400.

"We're big A's fans here. We're optimistic that we'll make $4,000 or $5,000," he said.

The pioneering program -- offering mostly weekday games and two Sunday dates -- likely will benefit the Athletics, too.

"These are games that they probably won't sell out. The Yankees and Red Sox are not included," Johnson said. "So, this is a great way for the A's to sell tickets."

Lynda Foster, a Parent Club member at Vannoy Elementary School in Castro Valley, said the money they raised will help teachers by paying for classroom supplies, playground equipment and field trip expenses.

"I always thought these (items) were included in school budgets," Foster said. "But apparently they're not. The list goes on."

At Hayward High School, the leadership class and the athletics boosters also are looking for the baseball ticket plan to help fill dwindling financial coffers.

"We're trying to raise $5,000, which we think we can do by selling 500 tickets," said Kathy Di Bernardi of the Hayward High School Athletics Boosters Club.

The boosters expect budget cuts in 2004-05 to seriously hamper Hayward's sports teams from taking part in many of their usual activities. Team busing costs are one aspect of high school sports that the boosters hope to address with any new ticket-related revenue, Di Bernardi said.

In addition to the school community, the boosters have sent letters to about 150 Hayward businesses, Di Bernardi added, asking them to buy A's tickets to benefit the high school.

"It's hard because businesses get hit all the time for money," she said. "We hope they can see this is for a good cause."

Several San Leandro district schools, including John Muir Middle School and San Leandro High School, also are taking part in "Step Up to the Plate for Education."

And even while a steroid scandal threatens the reputations of some of Major League Baseball's biggest and bulkiest stars, the new program gives local schools with tiny budgets a new reason to appreciate the National Pastime.

"I like to support institutions that have worked to support us," said Sheila Jordan, superintendent of Alameda County schools. "It's important to reward businesses that understand that supporting education is good for the community.

"It's good for the A's. It's good for the schools. It's good for the kids."

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