tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844167015224368882.post2549930156564788507..comments2023-07-30T06:56:42.018-07:00Comments on Parenting is Political: Semi-Private SchoolsStepfordTOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08340282997915000608noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844167015224368882.post-67751293142061226652019-05-15T02:19:20.683-07:002019-05-15T02:19:20.683-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.vasanthanjuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07931012435433131967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844167015224368882.post-90859946374618341582019-04-10T03:22:58.621-07:002019-04-10T03:22:58.621-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.gohar KHAnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15039427069834862805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844167015224368882.post-8764567569904617032012-06-10T18:11:22.622-07:002012-06-10T18:11:22.622-07:00Schools are funded perfectly fine--it's just t...Schools are funded perfectly fine--it's just that most of the money goes to salaries and benefits. (Teachers got about a 25% raise since McGuinty came to power.) See www.SunsineOnSchools.ca Better that parents got a voucher to use at whatever school they choose.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844167015224368882.post-32578968975404758462011-03-11T19:27:27.121-08:002011-03-11T19:27:27.121-08:00KD — In our school, the parent organization does d...KD — In our school, the parent organization does disclose publicly how much money they have raised in a given year, and what it has been spent on. They also occasionally send out surveys to parents soliciting their preferences re: how the money is spent. The parent association spends money on things like smart boards, scientists and artists who come to the school, books for classroom libraries, air conditioning for top floor rooms, special theatrical or musical performances, etc. All of these "enrichments" are worthwhile (apart from smart boards, in my humble opinion), but that doesn't change the fact that parents shouldn't have to fund-raise for them. They should be part of the system for all kids, or not.<br /><br />By the way, I agree that many of the "extras" the parents fund-raise for are not all that important. After all, the one thing parent money can't buy is a child-friendly environment!StepfordTOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08340282997915000608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844167015224368882.post-55301881401282627902011-03-11T19:08:21.081-08:002011-03-11T19:08:21.081-08:00Chris, your comments are bang on. Excessive fundra...Chris, your comments are bang on. Excessive fundraising allows governments—and parents—to ignore the fundamental problem, which is the chronic underfunding of education. Some people have suggested that there should be a central fund, such as the one you describe in your district, from which donated money could be distributed to schools in an equitable manner. If there has to be parent fundraising, I would prefer it be conducted this way, but as someone on Twitter pointed out, a central "fund" already exists: it's called tax dollars! The problem, in Canada at least, is that taxation levels for the wealthiest segments of the population have been reduced over the years, so that governments no longer feel they can afford to fully fund education. But of course they can. They could—gasp!—raise taxes on the wealthy and on corporations, or they could prioritize better. We used to fund education fully; why can't we do it now?<br /><br />I also agree that the lax rules governing parent fundraising (and the resulting disparities between schools) function as a kind of bribe to keep the kids of the wealthy in the system. In our neighbourhood, the schools compete quite explicitly with private schools. We even have "houses" in our local public school!StepfordTOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08340282997915000608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844167015224368882.post-3765002303956759392011-03-11T10:34:23.994-08:002011-03-11T10:34:23.994-08:00I went to a fairly spartan private school. When m...I went to a fairly spartan private school. When my oldest first started school I honestly didn't pay very much attention to things like computers or playground equipment. I never would have dreamed that within an individual school district, one school could have more computers strictly based on the ability of the PTO to fundraise.<br /><br />It would be nice to see a public disclosure of monies raised by the PTOs, how many computers each school has etc. I'm sure that school officials don't want to have the discussion.<br /><br />I think the fundraising inequities are less at th junior high level in our district. They have a magazine sale...which is heavily pushed by administrators at the school.KDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07883213697051461818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844167015224368882.post-61089445547532887322011-03-10T17:25:19.349-08:002011-03-10T17:25:19.349-08:00On the other hand, if they did ban private funding...On the other hand, if they did ban private funding, the result would probably be that *all* the kids would have crappy playgrounds and no special programs. And parents with money would just be more likely to put their kids in private schools.<br /><br />I wonder how many of the disparities among our public schools are knowingly tolerated as a kind of bribe to keep wealthy parents in the public system.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12919030671050831251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844167015224368882.post-69005956798034057552011-03-10T16:28:00.867-08:002011-03-10T16:28:00.867-08:00KD's right. Whenever our school's PTA con...KD's right. Whenever our school's PTA congratulates us on the money it's raised toward school improvements, I always think, Too bad if you're at a school where the parents don't have as much money to donate. If there were a rule against that kind of private funding, our school's parents could only get that nice playground equipment by advocating for more public spending on the schools -- which would then be more equitably distributed.<br /><br />That's one of the reasons I bothered writing <a href="http://ablogaboutschool.blogspot.com/2010/08/across-america-million-trips-to-target.html" rel="nofollow">this post</a>, which might seem to be on a trivial issue, but is really just one more sign of the creeping privatization (and therefore inequity) of the public schools.<br /><br />We do have a district-wide foundation that parents can contribute to -- but it's competing for those same dollars that go to the individual PTAs. And seriously, why shouldn't tax money pay for the public schools? If it's all right to insist that students pay for their own books and supplies and playground equipment, how long can it be before the schools start charging tuition? What's the difference?Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12919030671050831251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844167015224368882.post-84991961841866781842011-03-10T12:17:20.708-08:002011-03-10T12:17:20.708-08:00Thanks for commenting, KD. (I've seen a lot of...Thanks for commenting, KD. (I've seen a lot of your great comments over on Chris' blog!)<br /><br />Here too, fund-raised money isn't used for absolute essentials, like teachers' salaries. But it's amazing what it <em>can</em> be used for. Playgrounds, for instance, and smart-boards in classrooms, visiting scientists, etc. I think it creates a two-tiered school system, which kind of goes against the principles of public education. My kids have benefited from these disparities, for sure, but I wish schools could be funded properly and fullly so that major fundraising by parents (unheard of when I went to school) was not necessary.StepfordTOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08340282997915000608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844167015224368882.post-38702857996328423722011-03-09T20:27:42.599-08:002011-03-09T20:27:42.599-08:00Your comments about fundraising are really quite i...Your comments about fundraising are really quite interesting, it certainly is an issue that doesn't get enough attention.<br /><br />I know there are big differences is fundraising abilities amongst the elementaries where I live. Fundraising money(where I live) can't be used to pay teacher salaries, but it can be used to fund an after school foreign language class or for equipment. All one has to do is walk into some of our local elementaries to see that one has more equipment than another.KDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07883213697051461818noreply@blogger.com