Another area you really need to get volunteers to examine is technology solutions.
Years ago, I saw a video about Alaska schools. They have many small villages that are cut off during parts of the year due to snow and blizzards. The villages were too small too support much of a school, so parents were faced with sending their children to boarding school or just managing at home.
At some point, they decided to move to videoconferencing. The towns were equipped and linked, and the children attended classes this way. They didn't spend the whole day in front of the camera, but supplemented what the local teacher could do. It was very successful.
These days, with online classes, web conferencing, distance learning, videoconferencing there are even more options. And it's probably a great area for grants.
It may seem foreign and scary. But it CAN be done. Parents and school officials could research ideas and funding. Other schools will willingly share information. It would just take some time.
I know your situation is elementary ed, but here's a link to a virtual high school that's been in the news. (
www.govhs.org/website.nsf
)
(By the way, Tim, this might be a great article. To see how schools are implementing distance learning technologies and how the parent groups might be drawn in to help.)