Post by sallywalker on Jan 20, 2016 11:55:18 GMT -5
Do you feel like your kids school is constantly raising money? I get it. I really do, but as a parent it is exhausting. I am constantly worried that I forgot to send money for something that my kid is missing out on. This week if I don't send a dollar by Thursday, they are not allowed to participate in Pj day on Friday.
Post by snowflurry on Jan 20, 2016 12:04:25 GMT -5
That's crazy!
We only do 2 fundraisers and both are completely optional. Fall fundraiser is the catalog junk stuff for sale. Spring fundraiser is part of the field day activities - pledges collected for laps ran by your kid.
This kind of constant sending money in would never happen at DD's (public) school. There wouldn't be enough participation to justify it, and there would be a lot of families that just couldn't afford it.
Is it the school itself, or the PTA? Our PTA does all fundraising, and other than book fair and Santa's Workshop, all fundraising is done at PTA events, not during school.
Refusing to let kids participate in a school-based activity because their parents didn't pay extra $ is total bullshit and would prompt a visit to the administration.
That's annoying! What would happen if you sent her in pajamas without paying?
Our school doesn't do shit like this, but it's public.
Even our private preschool ($$$) just charges tuition and that's it!
I thought about that. I mean of course I'm going to send the dollar, but what if I didn't? Would they send her home for being in PJs. Probably not. This is a public school.
Yes. But frankly I try not to get too mad about this stuff; educational funding has reached such an all-time low that I suspect they need every cent they get. We don't participate in selling stuff or etc, but instead will just donate ourselves.
I know. I know the money is needed. I just wish they would ask for a certain amount a couple of times per year instead of a dollar here and a dollar there every couple of weeks. I can't keep up!
Now I just saw we also need to donate for an ice cream party!
This kind of constant sending money in would never happen at DD's (public) school. There wouldn't be enough participation to justify it, and there would be a lot of families that just couldn't afford it.
Is it the school itself, or the PTA? Our PTA does all fundraising, and other than book fair and Santa's Workshop, all fundraising is done at PTA events, not during school.
This is actually through the school. The others have mostly been the PTO. They are the ones that lost T's dollar and she didn't get a Popsicle when the other kids did.
I feel like we have talked about this for your school before. It was like, a marshmellow one day and a lollipop the next?
Too much!
They have popcorn every Friday that you have to bring a dollar for. Then they have random Popsicle days and pencil days. They lost her Popsicle dollar, but thought she didn't bring one. So she got to eat marshmallows with the other kids who didn't bring a dollar.
I feel like we have talked about this for your school before. It was like, a marshmellow one day and a lollipop the next?
Too much!
They have popcorn every Friday that you have to bring a dollar for. Then they have random Popsicle days and pencil days. They lost her Popsicle dollar, but thought she didn't bring one. So she got to eat marshmallows with the other kids who didn't bring a dollar.
Refusing to let kids participate in a school-based activity because their parents didn't pay extra $ is total bullshit and would prompt a visit to the administration.
I'm not sure where I come down personally on this because I despise these fundraisers lol, but I think you would find administration is very supportive of this kind of fundraising. At least in my experience at two Title One schools.
The schools need the money and this is a way to have low income families participate. Most families at my school would not buy overpriced wrapping paper, Yankee Candles, etc. It's too much cash to outlay. So they need a fundraiser to offset that and these $1 type fundraiser require no financial output on the school's part, very little to no work from administration or a volunteer force that the school may not have and the proceeds go directly to the school instead of to a middleman.
I hate school fundraisers lol. At DS1's school in December we had a Square One Art fundraiser and a popsicle fundraiser and at DS2's preschool there were wreath sales and some kind of candy,wrapping paper, cookie sale. This month both kids have fundraisers next Friday, one the St Jude Ride a Thon and then a walk a thon at DS1's public school.
This kind of constant sending money in would never happen at DD's (public) school. There wouldn't be enough participation to justify it, and there would be a lot of families that just couldn't afford it.
Is it the school itself, or the PTA? Our PTA does all fundraising, and other than book fair and Santa's Workshop, all fundraising is done at PTA events, not during school.
This is actually through the school. The others have mostly been the PTO. They are the ones that lost T's dollar and she didn't get a Popsicle when the other kids did.
That's just messed up. If we have kids looking for popcorn that say they brought their quarter, we give them the darn popcorn. (It's the ones who admit they didn't have money that we tell "you have to bring it next month.") Our PTA is the primary fundraiser as well. We have the occasional classroom coin challenge, or bring in a can for the food bank or something. The school fundraising is never actually for school purposes but for various charities. I take that back; the PTA handed over the fundraising for the fifth grade camp last year to the fourth and fifth grade teachers. Other than that it's been animal rescues, food banks, sister schools, etc.
And a dollar for popcorn? Holy jeez. Ours are monthly fun for kids at a break-even point. They're not a *fundraiser* for Pete's sake. That's very Marie Antoinette-ish.
I'm not looking forward to this once DS gets to kindergarten. I have heard that the schools around here try to minimize a lot of the fundraising stuff though. It's a small town and you can only hit up the same people so many times! There's a non-profit organization here that does public school fundraising at a higher level (businesses but also individuals) that still allows for the additional funding that the schools need but makes it so it's not such a constant thing.
Post by sailorgray on Jan 20, 2016 12:47:02 GMT -5
Our public school doesn't do a lot of fundraising like that, but they will do things like sell those coupon books. Fine, but please do not send the actual book home with the kids and then expect us to either pay the $25 or send the book back. As soon as that book was put in my 6 year old's backpack, he went through it on the bus and tore out what coupons he wanted to use (they were for all of his favorite places, so of course he did), so we HAD to buy it. We would have anyway, but I thought of the families where $25 IS a hardship. Just let us order one and then send it home.
I also get annoyed when they talk up fundraisers being held at local restaurants, ice cream places, etc. to the kids. I know they want them to be excited which will then make the parents excited, but sometimes we just don't want to go to the upscale, local brewery and shell out $60 on a Tuesday night so that the school can get 10% of our bill and we are then left to deal with a ticked off kid who thinks all of his friends will be there. Just put a flier in the kids backpack and/or send home a note.
While I don't agree any kid should be left out of school activities because they don't have money (that's shitty), I am in support of fundraising.
I'm on our PTO with the same handful of parents who do all of the fundraising. It sucks, I don't want to do it, but I want the kids to benefit. We fund field trips (otherwise there wouldn't be any), teacher grant programs, classroom supplies (so teachers don't have to spend all their own money) and fun school community events. It's important. And I never see any of the parents in my school who complain about it show up to help out and have a vote.
Our school is not heavy on them but cheering was ridiculous! We paid an assload of $$ up front and every single practice but one they gave us some sort of thing to raise funds for. It was our first and last year for that BS.
We use public school and there are just two fundraisers a year. One is selling crap (but you can just donate cash instead) and the other is an outdoor movie night event.
I love that we don't have as many as other schools seem to.
Yes and no. As someone works behinds the scenes in the PTA I understand that the different requests come from different places and no one group is asking for money all the time but their efforts overlap.
The class parent usually does a collection at the start of the year for parties and supplies they then ask again in December and June for teacher gifts. All this goes right back into the class or to the teacher. We've actually been thinking about doing one annual request instead of 3. I just don't know how people would feel about giving money for a teacher gift they've barely gotten to know.
The teachers ask for money for field trips special class projects. Normally this is fairly nominal request (say $5 to $10) but in a few grades their are some big trips that are taken every year and it can be a big request to make.
The PTA does either an event (which sometimes raises funds) or a true fundraiser about every other month.
The school itself does an annual fund raiser and the money creates a discretionary fund for the administration.
Yes. But frankly I try not to get too mad about this stuff; educational funding has reached such an all-time low that I suspect they need every cent they get. We don't participate in selling stuff or etc, but instead will just donate ourselves.
I know. I know the money is needed. I just wish they would ask for a certain amount a couple of times per year instead of a dollar here and a dollar there every couple of weeks. I can't keep up!
Now I just saw we also need to donate for an ice cream party!
Make this known to your PTA. I bet others feel the same. Our PTA finally got the message and now asks for one donation (no set amount) at the start of the year, does a jog-a-thon mid-year and a parents' night out casino night in the Spring. Much easier for planning and doesn't involve selling crap or sending $1 with the kid.
My youngest dd school does this all the time. They do about 4 big fundraiser throughout the year of crap. Now this school year they have Wednesday's $3.00 for smoothie king and Friday's $1.00 for Saints or LSU attire.
If a child wears the attire without bringing the money they get sent to the office>
My youngest dd school does this all the time. They do about 4 big fundraiser throughout the year of crap. Now this school year they have Wednesday's $3.00 for smoothie king and Friday's $1.00 for Saints or LSU attire.
If a child wears the attire without bringing the money they get sent to the office>
Now this makes me ragey. Send a note home with the kid that $1 needs to be sent in, but don't deny a child the educational content they are entitled to because of fundraising bs. Eww.
In my son's school they get cards for displaying certain positive character attributes. They can "spend" them on dollar store type toys, wearing a hat to school one day, wearing crazy socks or whatever. It's not always clear to me on the calendar if this is an event they need to spend their cards on or if it's just a regular "free" spirit day type activity. If I sent him dressed in spirit clothes and he "got in trouble" b/c he didn't have any cards I wouldn't be happy.
Post by Booze Raccoon on Jan 20, 2016 16:22:33 GMT -5
Yes. DD goes to a public school and just about every week it's something. I'm trying to keep in mind that her education is worth it and that I want her school to be the best it can. That said, i feel like I've spend a small fortune since September.
My kids go to public school. I think any "fundraising" where the kid is excluded from an activity if they don't bring in money is total bullshit. I would absolutely set my principal and school board's inboxes on fire with emails every day until this practice was ended. OMG, it makes me so mad to even think about it.
Fundraising in general helps our school do things that the school board won't fund. I am happy to give, but I won't make my kid sell stuff or do anything outside of what she likes to do. That's my job. But, I have the time and the inclination to give and I don't think it should ever be a requirement.
Post by iheartbanjos on Jan 20, 2016 17:33:00 GMT -5
At the beginning of the school year, the PTA gives their operating budget for the year. They ask for donations and we just all write checks, and they always end up with a surplus. They do no further fundraising. It's glorious!
Post by Doggy Mommy on Jan 20, 2016 18:47:47 GMT -5
I would let PTO know that it's annoying to have all these little things and it would be more convenient to parents to just have one or two big fundraisers. Some schools are changing things around. I used to teach at a school that had 5 million tiny annoying fundraisers selling junk and it was awful.
My school just has a few. There's a huge auction and that's where 99% of the fundraising happens. There's a very small flower sale in the spring that lasts like 3 hours and sells out (and I love their flowers - high quality and cheaper than most garden centers). Sometimes there's a fall carnival but it isn't a fundraiser - It just makes enough to cover the cost of having it.