Does your public school request donations?

[ahisma]

Does your public school request donations to a school foundation? If so, how much / year?

We're in an upper middle class LCOL area. Last year they asked for $300/child, this year it's up to $500/child. For us, that's $1,500.

[kozachka]

Yes, they do, as does every single public school in the area. I've posted on this when we just moved here as I was shocked by the amount, but once I read what others are paying, I chilled. The suggested amount is $600-$650 per child (I think). I paid $250 and my company matched another $125 for the total of $375. I know this is close to the average because I've checked the report for total amount donated last year and divided it by the number of students.

[kwc]

Recommended $800 per child here in our Silicon Valley affluent suburban grade school. I think around 70% of families participate though that doesn't tell you how much they give... I suspect it varies a ton.
At our school, it pays for 100% of the aide time (200 hours per year), art, the reading specialist and also other projects including resilience/ bullying programs.
Our separate PTA fundraises for "things" not salaries, so stuff like computers, tables, booster seats for field trips, books.
Two of the affluent neighboring districts ask for $1200 and $1500 per child, though I know at least one of the districts is in more dire financial straits despite the very high COL. Another asks for $2K... it's a very small district where a lot of the kids go to private school already!

Things are rough here in California!

[baymom]

I live in the California Bay Area like the two PP and our public school requests $1,200 per family. Being on the PTA board, I know most families do contribute. My parents were shocked when I mentioned the suggested donation amount to them. But, unlike when I was a kid, we get very little help from the state. This money pays for the PE teacher, reading specialist, computer teacher, librarian, art instruction, music teacher, supplies, ect. It's actually pretty sad how little we get from the district and the state. I can't imagine how rough it must be for California public schools that can't raise a lot of money.

[goldenpig]

We go to private, but I think our public school asks for $1200-1500/year or more as well (based on when I toured the public schools). I think there were two different donations requested, one for the PTA to fund books and supplies and then another for a private foundation that funds PE, art, aides, etc. And this is a well-off community that has high property taxes and extra tax measures to support the local schools, but they don't get much from the state.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Oh wow, no. Ten years ago, when I was a teacher at DD's school, they asked for a $50 donation for K supplies. Aside from that "tradition" that went away at some point, I've never heard of any school asking for a flat out donation. We have always been told (in the south - in public schools) that the free (appropriate) public education is a right and an expectation. The appropriate part pertains to 504 plans, etc. but still the free part applies to all. They do ask for napkins, snacks, sometimes "wish list" items like dry erase markers or glue sticks, but never just money. There are plenty of opportunities for giving at other fundraising events, however.

[KrisM]

Ours do not. We do send in supplies at the beginning of each school year and other things as requested. Our PTO raises money.

[liz]

Oh wow, no.

:yeahthat: That was my first repsonse too. wow, I had no idea that other schools requested so much from families. We certainly have class lists in the beginning of the school year and specific requests throughout (to replenish tissues, dry erase markers etc). Our PTO only had one fundraiser this year and where they were hoping to raise 100$ per child($ raffle) and that's it.

[maestramommy]

yes, but not usually money. We get requests for donations of class supplies. It's all voluntary of course. EAch class has their own wishlist, and when the teacher sends home the weekly email she/he includes the wishlist at the bottom. Occasionally in DD3's class I've been asked to donate a bag of jellybeans or some other small package of food items for a party.

We live in an partially affluent MCOL area.

[maestramommy]

I live in the California Bay Area like the two PP and our public school requests $1,200 per family. Being on the PTA board, I know most families do contribute. My parents were shocked when I mentioned the suggested donation amount to them. But, unlike when I was a kid, we get very little help from the state. This money pays for the PE teacher, reading specialist, computer teacher, librarian, art instruction, music teacher, supplies, ect. It's actually pretty sad how little we get from the district and the state. I can't imagine how rough it must be for California public schools that can't raise a lot of money.

Wow, that is really crazy.

[JBaxter]

No not in any of the schools my children have attended in Maryland. We are in SC now and there hasn't been any indication they do. Some teachers send home a wish list < extra markers, crayons glue sticks etc> but no money is requested.

[hellokitty]

Wow, no. Te academic, music and sports boosters ask for money. However, the only thing our district asks is for kids to get the supply list, those who aren't on free lunch pay school fees ($50/kid) and throughout the yr, the teachers ask for a variety of supplies as needed. Out pto does fundraisers two times a yr. We live in a lcol area, but there's no way most ppl could afford to pay $1200/kid!! Lcol also equals lower incomes.

[happymomma]

Wow. We have been asked for money but it is more like $50 per family. Our teachers have asked for things like supplies for the classroom but in general we are not really asked.

[bisous]

I've been in three districts in the same county, all in a line with varying income amounts.

My experience has been that the best funded, highest performing schools come from the highest income areas AND they ask for the most money upfront. The lowest performing schools have the lowest average income and ask for almost nothing.

Here's how it breaks down:

Area 1: Average income 138K. All schools are 10. Upfront asked for over 700 at the start of school in addition to fundraising throughout the year with a gala that had tickets priced over $150 each. The local community has voted for several bond issues for the schools so they are much better funded than most of the other schools in the county. They have aides in almost every classroom, a full time music teacher, full time PE teacher and fabulous library. As an aside, they have a chef from the Four Seasons who planned their hot lunch menu, have a no litter lunch policy and have outlawed water bottles.

Area 2: Average income 100K. Big district so quite a bit of variation, our school was rated an 8. Asked for no donations up front but did every little fundraiser under the sun (wrapping paper, cookie dough, jogathon etc.) They have a music teacher, a PE teacher, and do some field trips.

Area 3: Average income 78K. Small district and very poorly equipped. Most schools don't have libraries, PE teachers and did no field trips at all. We weren't asked for a dime. The big fundraiser was McDonald's bucks. This is in contrast to area 1 who's menu was planned by the wellness director of the Four Seasons!

Our charter school is in area 3 but in a different district. We weren't asked to contribute a huge amount at the beginning of the year but there have been many well organized fundraising activities. The gala is cheaper than at the first school, with a pair of tickets costing $140. Our school doesn't have a library but does have PE specialists, music teachers, and loads of field trips.

Bonus area (I've never been in this school district but my mom teaches here and it is in the SAME county right in a line). Average income 51K. Many failing schools. They don't ask students for a dime. Luckily, because many of the students are lower income, they actually have better amenities than Area 3. All schools have libraries, and there are more special programs for students with special needs. BUT classrooms are 30 to 1 versus the other areas where lower elementary are still in the low 20s to 1.

This is ALL in the same basic area around a 30 mile swath throughout Southern California. Fundraising and school amenities vary HUGELY. School performance is totally tied to income. The best funded schools ask for the most money.

[Pennylane]

That is crazy! Both schools my dc have attended have only had PTA fundraisers, never a direct request for $.

Ann

[pinkmomagain]

No. I have never heard of public schools in my area or state requesting donations. I live in a HCOL area and people complain enough about taxes, they would never go for donations.

Classroom teachers do ask for things like tissues, wipes, handsanitzer for the classroom though.

[Gena]

What does a school foundation do?

We pay school fees of about $35/year and the PTO requests small donations. We also donate classroom supplies. There are pay-to-play fees for sports and other extracurricular activities.

We do pay quite a lot in property taxes to support our local district. Every year there is a new levy or a replacement (increased) levy. In our city/district the levies generally pass, although there is a lot of grousing about it. A nearby district has not had success in getting there levies past in recent years and they have had to cut a lot of programs and services.

Ohio's method of funding public schools through property taxes was declared unconstitutional by the State Supreme Court around 15 years ago. The State government was directed to do a complete overhaul of the funding system. That didn't happen and we are still operating under the same system. Every time they get close to reforming the system, the plan falls apart. So who knows what is going to happen in the future.

ETA: I just want to add that I am very proud of my community because this is an area that has been hit very hard by the economy, where a lot of families struggle, where many of our schools are Title I, and we still manage to pass levies for our schools, our parks & rec department, and our libraries. Our district schools score very well in the state assessments and are well-known in the area for having great special education services.

[janine]

No, and I would be po'd if they did at the rate we get taxed!

[sarahsthreads]

No, I've never heard of that!

We provide school supplies at the beginning of the year (and when I've volunteered in the classroom I take note of things running low, like glue sticks, and send in extra if the teacher confirms they're in need - I picked this up from a couple of other parents the first year, so I don't imagine I'm the only one who does this!) and the PTA does various fundraising events throughout the year like book fairs, carnivals and family fun nights. As far as I know those funds are mainly used to supplement field trips (they have a big "box tops" drive which mostly funds field trips) and - at least in the primary school - the kids all get to pick a free book at the first book fair of the year complements of the PTA.

Other than that we're sometimes asked to donate food to a class party or for after a concert.

We live in a fairly LCOL area (trending upwards, though) and I think something like 30-40% of the student population qualifies for free/reduced lunches. I try to be pretty generous to the fundraising efforts because I know we're lucky to be able to afford to and that others might not be able to, but I'm really glad it's not mandatory!

Sarah :)

[egoldber]

People don't realize how incredibly underfunded the CA public school system is compared to many/most other school systems in the country. And becasue of how CA state law is structured, it is very difficult to undo a change once it is made (a la Prop 13).

http://www.ppic.org/main/publication_show.asp?i=1001

Our public school does ask for a donation ($50) and they do many fundraisers. But this is for what I would consider extras, not for funding positions or classes.

[mom3boys]

No, never. The HSA (home and school assn) is amazing and does a lot of fundraisers, but we never get asked directly for money. We pay high property taxes to live in our school district, and that is where the vast majority of school funding comes from. It is not like CA where the state property tax is set at 1.25% (I think) of assessed value annually. Taxes vary by municipality and very much by county and ours is currently a little over 2% of assessed value and we just passed a school budget which will raise that by a few hundreths of a %. In some counties near me (in NJ and suburban NY) the rate is over 3% of assessed value (so, more than 15K a year for a 500K house, e.g.). I haven't heard of any public schools in the area directly asking for a contribution, with the exception of a few charter schools that were starting up in my old city and literally had no library books and such.

ETA: DS was previously in a very low-income district. I think something like 80%of the kids qualified for free or reduced-cost lunch. That school never asked for donations either, and I'm not surprised because the families would not have been able to afford it. In a weird way it was SO low income there were programs that would not be in place in a slightly higher income area. They had a program where the kids received fresh fruit twice a week. DS once came home with an entire cantaloupe. They had a dentist come in once and do free/reduced cost dental cleanings.

[Pear]

I don't have a problem with a suggested donation. It isn't a requirement and I would much rather just right a check than try to sell wrapping paper.

[o_mom]

The school district does not request donations other than the separate foundation that funds grants, etc. That's usually a 1-2x/yr letter/e-mail request. We do pay book fees, but that's not a request, lol.

The PTO does request donations. PTO money pays for teacher supply grants, after school tutoring for kids who need it, some all-school events, some grade-specific events and various other stuff. They do not pay for salaries/aides/specials. They do two main fundraisers a direct donation and a spring sale. The suggested donation is like $30/child for the direct donation fundraiser IIRC.

[AnnieW625]

People don't realize how incredibly underfunded the CA public school system is compared to many/most other school systems in the country. And becasue of how CA state law is structured, it is very difficult to undo a change once it is made (a la Prop 13).

http://www.ppic.org/main/publication_show.asp?i=1001


:yeahthat: and don't even get me started with how prop 13 artificially increased housing prices.

We do private but the best public schools in our area have better fundraisers and raise more money. One school at the height of the recession raised $90k in 2010. Our school raised $130k last year, but had to split $45k of that with the church. I pay $4600 a year for tuition so I get that people here don't want to fundraise all year or asked to pay extra, but most people do support the fundraisers some of which benefit tuition assistance, and some which benefit the parish and the school as a whole. Our pastor is really proactive and has been great for our school, he even gave some of the money back to the school that we split with the parish from our $90K fair proceeds. We had our fair last weekend and I am anxious to see how much we made. Some schools have yearly book fees of around $500 and around $5-7k for tuition.

[schrocat]

The suggested donation was $75 per child at DS1's school and most kids bring in an additional $75 company match so that makes it a total of $150.

[mytwosons]

We are supposedly in a not great district (I've been very happy w/our elementary) and really aren't asked for much. There certainly isn't a request for cash donations. Teachers send home wish lists for supplies, but it is made clear students don't need to supply anything, even pencils. Our PTO tries to have one bigger fundraiser each year instead of a bunch of smaller fundraisers like wrapping paper. Every other year there is a dinner/auction that costs about $40pp. Our school has PE, music, tech, etc, but we do have larger class sizes (upper 20s).

The next town over is well to do, and has a foundation. I believe people donate over a mil each year, but I don't know what that breaks down to per student.

[dogmom]

I think the stipend or suggested donation is a pretty established thing in CA due to the screwed up funding. I suspect things vary other places.

Here, we have a regional school district made up of 3 towns, mine has 6000 residents, around 900-1000 kids in elementary/middle school. (K-8). The regional school district runs the teachers, budget, and the high school which all three towns go to. The towns own the elementary and middle school buildings. So we have town based Parent Teacher Organizations that raise funds for cultural activities, support for after school activities in middle school, some extra equipment from the school. The program raises 40,000 a year. It has funded in the elementary school things like an extra field trip each year for each grade, a kiln for the art room, art programs to come in, teacher appreciation week activities, stuff like that. They have a big auction and dinner every OTHER year (thank goodness), Target red card, box tops, and activities like an Arts Day, Lip Sync contest, school picnic that people volunteer stuff for and they sell tickets, so the proceeds go to the PTO. The Middle School cut the selling stuff fundraising out in 2009 and just ask for pledges, it's been going fine. Usually you are encouraged to give some money to support things like room based raffle baskets, etc. to help with fundraising through the school year.

I don't know how the High School or other towns work. I know that when something big comes up (like helping with the new elementary school building we got, or a new track for the High School) usually people set up separate organizations that are only for that project and last 1 or 2 years.

[crayonblue]

In San Diego county and no, our school does not ask for donations. If they did, very few would donate.

[kristenk]

Sort of. DD's school has one selling-stuff fundraiser per year to raise money to send the 4th graders to a camp for a couple of nights. Families can choose to participate or not. Any money raised from that fundraiser pays for kids who otherwise couldn't afford to go and then defrays the cost for the other kids.

The school itself asks for cash donations instead of holding any other fundraisers. There's not any sort of suggested amount. I think that they hope to raise over $15,000 total (or maybe $12,000?) and there are about 400 students at the school. Of the 400 students, I'd guess a quarter of the families are low-income. I really wish the school would give some guidance on the donation amount.

[westwoodmom04]

Our school doesn't ask for donations, other than classroom supplies. However, the parents do buy most of the technology (smart boards, new computers, etc. . for the school) via various fund raisers. PTA highest suggested membership contribution is $300. The first fundraiser for technology is gift wrap. You can opt out and just make a monetary contribution to the school which many do (we do both). Both kids' schools have silent auctions (private preschool, public elementary). We typically have spent well over $1000 at each. We would be paying tens of thousands more for private elementary school and are happy to make the donation. It all is used in ways that directly benefit the students and teachers.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Charter. No requested donations.

[JustMe]

Yes, although I believe this only started about 3 years ago, along with the major budget cuts. The school really needs the money and it is used for things that used to be basic. Our school is pretty low income families--they do not specify an amount (at one time last year the prinipal sent home a letter saying they were hoping for an average of $100/child, knowing that not everyone could pay that--I don't think they got it). They have multiple fundraisers including some where all of the money goes to the school (ie. a jogathon and read-a thon that are organized by a couple of parents, do not go through any company, they gets some small prizes donated for every child, and all the money goes directly to school.

In short, I think our school does a good job of making it clear they really do need donations (which I agree with), while acknowleding the realities or our low income population. It is true we do not have as many advantages of a higher income school, though. The school does do a great job of using the money well.

[mommylamb]

supply donations yes. The PTA raises money for the school through various fundraisers. I just cut the PTA a check so that I won't feel guilty for not selling crap to my work colleagues, which I hate to do.

[vonfirmath]

I am very thankful to live in a LCOL area. There are so many on free/reduced lunch they don't even think to ask for such sums! And are thankful for the help they can get.

There are a lot of fundraisers, but I've refused to do some, sent checks for others, and such and no guilt tripping or anything. Its all opportunities and no more.

[squimp]

We have a $25 supply fee and that is it. We have a number of fundraisers (auction, carnival, readathon, fun run) that in total make about $30k for the school, most of which pays for the art teacher. So I guess that means on average families donate about $75 through fundraising.

[ABO Mama]

We're in CA, and are not asked for $$$ upfront. We are asked for supplies and do fundraisers. Our school is K-8. We do have a PE teacher, but no classroom aides (class sizes are small; 20 kids in K-3, upper grades not much bigger).

[MontrealMum]

Ours do not. We do send in supplies at the beginning of each school year and other things as requested. Our PTO raises money.

:yeahthat:

I, also, had no idea that public schools asked for a flat out donation like that. Wow. I do know that my mom was supplementing supplies for her classroom out of her own pocket before she retired, so I guess this isn't that surprising, but I didn't realize it was so prevalent.

[Globetrotter]

Our school requests $300 per child. The fundraisers are very successful due to a dedicated set of parents, so we fund our music and art programs this way with some leftover funds.

ETA: This is CA.

[minnie-zb]

We buy our school supplies. In lieu of participating in the school fundraiser last fall, they suggested a donation of $25 per student. We live in a HCOL -- I'm amazed at what some of the folks are asked to donate to a public school!

[Kindra178]

Our PTO raises money to fund field trip buses, scholarships for the 5th grade camping trip and after school enrichment classes (like chess, sports, cooking, science). This year we are doing a new playground. The district is paying about $350,000 for it; the parents have to raise an additional $20,000 or so after the PTO kicks in about $25,000. The PTO also buys some technology stuff like smart boards and ipads.

[niccig]

We're looking at new school for DS. A couple we toured are upfront with how much the state provides per student and it's not enough. They do expect families to make up short fall + some for those from low income families that can't contribute. It pays for PE teacher, music teacher, the library etc. Things that the school would close if parents didn't contribute. Most families pay what they can, as it's cheaper than private school tuition and they want they kids to have PE.

[crayonblue]

People don't realize how incredibly underfunded the CA public school system is compared to many/most other school systems in the country.

Yes, and it is shocking when you consider the wealth in the area!

[arivecchi]

No. I think we are very fortunate that we have a very well managed school district with a strong AAA rating. I found this article when digging up info about school district ratings. It's from 2006, but very interesting.

http://www.lfhs.org/pdf/facilities/S&PAAASchools.pdf

[Kindra178]

Yes, and it is shocking when you consider the wealth in the area!

Traditionally, isn't that because CA puts all its resources into colleges?

[westwoodmom04]

Traditionally, isn't that because CA puts all its resources into colleges?

It often attributed to Prop 13, which greatly limited the amount of money available for services via taxes.

[bisous]

It often attributed to Prop 13, which greatly limited the amount of money available for services via taxes.

That is what I've always heard. My understanding is that before Prop 13 passed California schools were fantastic. I'd actually love to read up on this.

My sister teaches in a high school in Fairfax County, VA. She says she cannot BELIEVE the disparity in funding between what we had in high school and what she has available to her. It is leagues and leagues apart.

[niccig]

It often attributed to Prop 13, which greatly limited the amount of money available for services via taxes.

:yeahthat: and families that can afford put their kids in private school. So even if it's a wealthy area, not all that much from taxes and many families opt out of public ed. There's one charter I know of that is very well off, as donating is less than private school tuition or buying house that costs 200K more for the school district.

[crayonblue]

That is what I've always heard. My understanding is that before Prop 13 passed California schools were fantastic. I'd actually love to read up on this.


I need to read up on this too. Interestingly, when we moved out here, I contacted DD's first grade teacher to get her perspective on what we were seeing in CA schools and she said she was shocked because CA had always had such a good reputation. She was an older teacher, retirement age. My MIL, retired NY teacher/principal, said the same...that in the past CA had been the state to beat as far as education. But, when you take away all the money you lose a lot.

We had various propositions about raising taxes to fund public schools on the last ballot but I have no idea what happened or where that money was supposed to go.

[nfowife]

My kid's current school has a foundation that holds 2 fundraisers per year, a run in the fall and an auction in spring. It is a public k-8 school with 550 students. This year between those 2 events the school raised over $130,000. There is also a good tax base. I feel the school is well-funded and we are not asked for donations other than these 2 events.

[Tondi G]

yes ours does and it was very similar to yours... started lower, went up, then they dropped it thinking it might get more people to pay.... it didn't and the people who always paid were happy to pay less .... when it went back up they paid in all the same.

The parent organizations really work hard to try to raise funds. Here it usually pays for computer lab, PE teachers, teachers aids, librarian, a stipend for classroom teachers to spend towards projects or supplies or towards field trips etc. Everything the school district no longer pays for. Usually the group of parents is small and do a TON of work with very little appreciation.

[ahisma]

We're in MI. Our school budgets have been slashed and MI education is generally a train wreck. It used to be wonderful, but has taken a huge hit in recent years.

The PTA fundraisers are separate. They do it well, it's a walk once a year that kids raise money for. No wrapping paper, no chocolates to sell - I love it.

The foundation is separate. I get it, I really do. They do good things with the money (art, gym, parapros, etc.) I'm not thrilled to see that elementary specials and spanish are on the chopping block but HS athletics are free and clear. Ideally nothing would be cut - but I think the priorities are out of whack in this case. Realistically, kids from our district don't go on to get athletic scholarships. There has to be a happy balance somewhere.

Our donation is requested (strongly!) but not required. However, this year they sent a list of donors from last year out. That kind of takes part of the "option" away, which is particularly frustrating given that we're relatively socioeconimally diverse. Home values range from about 120,000 to about 1.5 million, for some perspective.

[bisous]

Our donation is requested (strongly!) but not required. However, this year they sent a list of donors from last year out. That kind of takes part of the "option" away, which is particularly frustrating given that we're relatively socioeconimally diverse.

Oh my word. Now THAT just shocks me!

[sweetheart82]

Yes. Fundraisers are optional, but there is pressure to sell a certain number of items, etc., via incentives and prizes and it becomes stressful sometimes to me, as a parent.

[baymom]

Oh my word. Now THAT just shocks me!

Our school publishs names of donars broken into dollar ranges of what each family donated, as well. There was a lot of discussion and thought put into doing this by the PTA and in the end, we thought it would be a more effective way to raise money. This is in an affluent neighborhood with high property taxes, but in California with little school funding. You have to do what you have to do, I think.

[vonfirmath]

The foundation is separate. I get it, I really do. They do good things with the money (art, gym, parapros, etc.) I'm not thrilled to see that elementary specials and spanish are on the chopping block but HS athletics are free and clear. Ideally nothing would be cut - but I think the priorities are out of whack in this case. Realistically, kids from our district don't go on to get athletic scholarships. There has to be a happy balance somewhere.


Around here, HS athletics pretty much pays for itself and brings in alumni money for the rest of the school when they are doing well in addition.


Our school publishs names of donars broken into dollar ranges of what each family donated, as well. There was a lot of discussion and thought put into doing this by the PTA and in the end, we thought it would be a more effective way to raise money. This is in an affluent neighborhood with high property taxes, but in California with little school funding. You have to do what you have to do, I think.

This could boomerang on you. A family that might be willing to give $20, or $50 deciding they'd rather give nothing and not show up on the list than have others evaluating whether they gave "enough"

[ahisma]

Around here, HS athletics pretty much pays for itself and brings in alumni money for the rest of the school when they are doing well in addition.

That's a good point. It is a wildly popular program. Still, looking at the budget they pay 4x as much per pupil for athletics than my DH's district does. I'm not out to cut athletics, but I'm dismayed to not even see it on the list. Here, it's definitely not self sustaining ($265 per pupil across the entire district).