They are the haves and have-nots of city public schools.

A review of PTA records in the city's richest and poorest districts reveals a vast disparity in how much parent groups have in their coffers to spend on extra perks for their students.

On the high end, Public School 290 on the upper East Side raised more than $1 million during the 2009-2010 school year, financial filings show.

Parents used their connections to auction off weekends at country homes, Broadway tickets and meals at fancy restaurants, raking in serious cash.

The school was able to spend more than $350,000 on school aides, music and after-school instructors - sought-after amenities during difficult city budget cuts.

Compare that with PS 86 in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, where the PTA didn't raise a dime last year. The school had to make do with a single teacher for kindergarten classes spilling over with 27 kids.

"It's not that other parents care more," said Mary Corsey, who is raising her grandchildren, Alberto and Desiree, who are in the sixth grade. "Someone who hasn't had peanut butter for dinner or a Con Ed bill that has a red line on it, they might just look at the surface."

Indeed, some schools naturally have a leg up when it comes to fund-raising. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts - with its numerous celebrity alums and parents - raked in $522,349 last year, largely from its annual auction.

This year, the school auctioned off white Chanel boots once worn by Madonna, whose daughter Lourdes attends the school, while alum Jonathan Letham, author of "Motherless Brooklyn," sold a chance to become a character in his next novel.

Parents say more than star power is needed, though, to successfully raise money.

"I think they have great people on the PTA, very creative people," said a mom at PS 290, the school that brought in more than $1 million. "We get emails all the time. Every time they ask for money, they say we need to support assistant teachers and keep art teachers."

With the threat of teacher layoffs looming, extra cash has gone from a luxury to a necessity, funding not only enrichment activities like art, music and computer lessons but also programs and staff members once considered basic.

At PS 77, a gifted and talented school on the upper East Side, parents raised an extra $5,334 per student, allowing them to spend more than a quarter of a million dollars on teacher assistants.

The PTA at PS 6 on the upper East Side spent an equal amount on teaching assistants - and still ended the year with $680,000 in the bank.

On the other end of the spectrum are dozens of schools that didn't raise a penny and have been cutting staff and tutoring every year since the budget cuts began in the 2007-08 school year.

Parents at some wealthy schools say assistance and experience could help PTAs in poorer areas start filling their coffers.

"What you don't see enough around the city is a lot of training and support for parent organizations to help parents in every neighborhood," said Ann Kjellberg, whose daughter is in fourth grade at PS 41 in Greenwich Village, where the PTA raised more than $900,000 last year.

mkolodner@nydailynews.com