Last week, The New York Times asked me if I believe in fundraising. My initial answer, “Yes, but it depends on what the money is for.”
You should feel free to disagree, but I’m always at a loss about fundraising because it perpetuates inequity in our schools. While one set of kids has to raise funds just for new textbooks and basketball uniforms, the other can just ask a few parents to drop a $100 check off at school for a trip to Washington D.C. without much work.
I’m also arguing for a true re-distribution of education tax money, especially on the local level. We can call it whatever we want, but we know our current funding source for schools is completely messed up. In fact, there are school systems that will raise taxes to assure that their own school gets more money for new facilities, but fight tooth and nail if the same money can help all schools in the state meet budgetary needs. It’s the sort of cognitive dissonance that makes fundraising ironically necessary.
There are “good schools” that, without fundraising, wouldn’t be able to afford non-core teachers and activities. In the essay, I’m arguing that, yes, we need to raise taxes and more evenly redistribute said taxes so all schools can get an equitable education.We can’t fundraise our way to equitable schools.
In any case, tell me what you think after you’ve read it. Thanks, all.
Property tax for schools leads to inequity, but the experiment in California shows that state-wide funding has the effect of bringing all schools down to the lowest funding level, rather than raising the schools in poor neighborhoods up.
I don’t know if there is a universal solution, though it is clear that no funding model in the US is working well for schools.
I agree. On a related note, I’ve always been bothered by the idea that teachers would need to fundraise independently on sites like Donors Choose for things like books in public schools. It’s a great resource for teachers given the situation but the idea that we are ever in that situation on this country is wrong.
Absolutely! I’ve heard stories where if a teacher does not bring in paper and pencil for the kids, there won’t be any school supplies for them to use to learn as they just do not have parents who can/will pay for that. Whereas higher SES area schools have active PTO/PTA groups that pay for extras such as classroom magazine subscriptions. When the school district simply pays for the space, the teacher, and a computer for the teacher, you will have inequity.
Another example from my district is that our district does not pay for classroom assistants for the early grades. Years ago they paid for this. Now, schools in higher SES areas have the PTO/PTA pay for assistants for Kindergarten and first grade while low SES schools cannot afford this. That means that a Kindergarten and first grade teacher in a low SES school will be on their own all day. This reduces job satisfaction along with the sheer amount of learning time available to students as if there is any accident or tears (potty accidents are common!), the teacher must stop everything to attend to that child.
Agree! I hate fund-raising and won’t let my own sons go door-to-door. I am not allowed to shill these items where I work and neither is my husband at his office. I would rather write a check and take a tax deduction than buy any more wrapping paper or tiny little tins of chocolate.
I do support fund-raising for field trips or speakers or special events, but both supplies and staffing funds should be based on a far more equitable system than we have now in any state I’m aware of.
This is what I think:
Do not allow fund-raising in public schools. Every public school should receive the same amount of funding per student and no more.
Individuals who want more than what the public school system offer, should send their children to private schools. End of Story!
Property taxes to fund schools is indeed inequitable. Yet, even if you establish a baseline of what we think ‘equitable’ funding is, some schools will find ways to raise more, some will find ways to squander what they have. From my view we have more of the squanderers that teach poor children, and fixing that root cause is way tougher than spending more money.