Megan Fox, American Idol, texting donations. Wow, parent groups certainly are finding original ways to combat extreme budget cuts! With the level of cuts we are seeing recently, the standard school fundraisers aren't enough. Have to hand it to these school communities -- instead of just bemoaning the cuts, they are banding together to make things happen. With creativity and flair to boot.  Check out these programs:

• An elementary school in Laurel Canyon, California enlisted the help of Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green to create a video about the proposed education cuts from the state budget. Someone on that PTA understands the meaning of "viral" for sure!

• A troubled school district in Michigan has gone to impressive lengths to educate their community about budget cuts and offer ways people can help. The most compelling way is a raffle that is giving away 4 tickets to the American Idol Finale -- including hotel and airfare. Sweet!

• Most would agree that in many areas, cuts to school budgets have reached crisis proportions. Vacaville Unified school district in California took note of the texting fundraising methods used for recent crises, like the Haiti earthquake, and was the first school to use this method. Kudos to these folks for their resourcefulness.

We wish these parent groups the best of luck. How is your PTO or PTA fighting budget cuts? Would love to hear about your programs.