Art Students' Quest for Tables!

My students are ambitious, creative, intelligent young people who deserve quality facilities and equipment to use through their art education. I teach Visual Arts to students ranging from 9th grade to 12th grade. These kids want to do well and extend their goals as far as they can during our time together. The problem is that our facilities and some equipment are old, broken, and falling apart. Last year we were fortunate to acquire a new classroom set of stools for students to sit on. Our tables, however, are in even worse condition than our previous chairs. Our tables are old, hand-me-down cafeteria tables; they are oblong and awkward to arrange in our classroom. The laminate tops are cracked, peeling back, and chipped; in some places it's missing entirely and the rough, uneven particleboard is exposed underneath. This is a very unsuitable surface on which for students to draw. The plastic surrounding of the laminate tables is also cracked, and sticking out in places, to where students continue to catch their clothing on them. Some students have even ripped their clothes when they passed by and got caught on a rough/sharp edge. Tables on which to work seem like a pretty basic requirement for any successful classroom, however it is a costly one. We are asking for $5000 to cover the cost of butcher block hardwood top and steel work benches that will last our students and many generations of students to come for a long time.