Janney auction tickets are $100 a person this year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I'm on our elementary's PTA Board and disapprove of school auctions. I understand it brings in money for the school, so I keep my mouth shut, but I do not condone the message that a public school can encourage inequalities, that if you have money, you get more school-related stuff. At our school, shadowing the Principal is auctioned off, or a lunch with the assistant Principal, etc. Tying a relationship with a special teacher or administrator with money is just wrong.

So I don't go. Don't want to see that happening live.

You shouldn't. I am a "poor" in a wealthy school and events like these don't bother me. We wouldn't be able to attend with the cost of tickets if our school was to offer something like this but oh well. The PTA puts on plenty of other free or low cost events and provides a hefty off set for field trips during the year that there is plenty of benefit we get as a family. Not every event can be for every person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just glad not to be at Janney after reading this thread.

(And happy to see there are other schools who do prioritize making all families welcome. No Jaguar has insinuated that about their school, just stated it’s cost of admission.)

I find this sentiment silly. We’re not at Janney, but no doubt Janney has events throughout the year that prioritize community-building. So one *fundraiser* each year has a big price tag. It’s one evening, not a mission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are right. There should be a mechanism for those who truly cannot afford to attend the auction to come. But in reality that is a very small number of families (1% are economically disadvantaged but probably more can't afford a $75 random expenditure). The tickets, however, are not out of line with other schools and at the $75 you can get a ticket for (not the $100 closer to the event) not out of line with what the vast majority can afford. There are the few here (and I think the initial poster falls in this category) that may not want to spend the money on it, but that is a choice. I was more responding to how the initial post read to me - "I want to come but I don't want to spend that much money." Or "I wish this event was cheaper and more casual, but I don't volunteer to help organize it."

+1

The attitude is what is irksome. I understand the pros and cons, but the values against wanting to somehow allow those who cannot, for whatever reason, afford it just because others can, strikes me as out of sync. Why not be inclusive, if you can?


Our school offers a discreet opportunity for those who want to attend to partake. There doesn't seem to be an abuse of this, and the richness of our community is valued in all of it's diverse composition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right. There should be a mechanism for those who truly cannot afford to attend the auction to come. But in reality that is a very small number of families (1% are economically disadvantaged but probably more can't afford a $75 random expenditure). The tickets, however, are not out of line with other schools and at the $75 you can get a ticket for (not the $100 closer to the event) not out of line with what the vast majority can afford. There are the few here (and I think the initial poster falls in this category) that may not want to spend the money on it, but that is a choice. I was more responding to how the initial post read to me - "I want to come but I don't want to spend that much money." Or "I wish this event was cheaper and more casual, but I don't volunteer to help organize it."

+1

The attitude is what is irksome. I understand the pros and cons, but the values against wanting to somehow allow those who cannot, for whatever reason, afford it just because others can, strikes me as out of sync. Why not be inclusive, if you can?


Our school offers a discreet opportunity for those who want to attend to partake. There doesn't seem to be an abuse of this, and the richness of our community is valued in all of it's diverse composition.

One problem I could foresee with doing this in Janney is that there are probably plenty of families who COULD easily afford to go, but might prefer not to pay full price. How do you determine who gets the discount? Plenty of wealthy people are quite happy to pay less than what the rest of the world might think is their fair share.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm on our elementary's PTA Board and disapprove of school auctions. I understand it brings in money for the school, so I keep my mouth shut, but I do not condone the message that a public school can encourage inequalities, that if you have money, you get more school-related stuff. At our school, shadowing the Principal is auctioned off, or a lunch with the assistant Principal, etc. Tying a relationship with a special teacher or administrator with money is just wrong.

So I don't go. Don't want to see that happening live.

You shouldn't. I am a "poor" in a wealthy school and events like these don't bother me. We wouldn't be able to attend with the cost of tickets if our school was to offer something like this but oh well. The PTA puts on plenty of other free or low cost events and provides a hefty off set for field trips during the year that there is plenty of benefit we get as a family. Not every event can be for every person.

Janney says they don’t have room to take their 10 percent quota of at-risk kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right. There should be a mechanism for those who truly cannot afford to attend the auction to come. But in reality that is a very small number of families (1% are economically disadvantaged but probably more can't afford a $75 random expenditure). The tickets, however, are not out of line with other schools and at the $75 you can get a ticket for (not the $100 closer to the event) not out of line with what the vast majority can afford. There are the few here (and I think the initial poster falls in this category) that may not want to spend the money on it, but that is a choice. I was more responding to how the initial post read to me - "I want to come but I don't want to spend that much money." Or "I wish this event was cheaper and more casual, but I don't volunteer to help organize it."

+1

The attitude is what is irksome. I understand the pros and cons, but the values against wanting to somehow allow those who cannot, for whatever reason, afford it just because others can, strikes me as out of sync. Why not be inclusive, if you can?


Our school offers a discreet opportunity for those who want to attend to partake. There doesn't seem to be an abuse of this, and the richness of our community is valued in all of it's diverse composition.

One problem I could foresee with doing this in Janney is that there are probably plenty of families who COULD easily afford to go, but might prefer not to pay full price. How do you determine who gets the discount? Plenty of wealthy people are quite happy to pay less than what the rest of the world might think is their fair share.

NP. We have a free ticket option for parents who don’t want to pay the ticket price for whatever reason. It hasn’t been abused. In fact, we also offer a way to pay extra and have far more parents paying more than the handful of parents who choose the free option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right. There should be a mechanism for those who truly cannot afford to attend the auction to come. But in reality that is a very small number of families (1% are economically disadvantaged but probably more can't afford a $75 random expenditure). The tickets, however, are not out of line with other schools and at the $75 you can get a ticket for (not the $100 closer to the event) not out of line with what the vast majority can afford. There are the few here (and I think the initial poster falls in this category) that may not want to spend the money on it, but that is a choice. I was more responding to how the initial post read to me - "I want to come but I don't want to spend that much money." Or "I wish this event was cheaper and more casual, but I don't volunteer to help organize it."

+1

The attitude is what is irksome. I understand the pros and cons, but the values against wanting to somehow allow those who cannot, for whatever reason, afford it just because others can, strikes me as out of sync. Why not be inclusive, if you can?


Our school offers a discreet opportunity for those who want to attend to partake. There doesn't seem to be an abuse of this, and the richness of our community is valued in all of it's diverse composition.

One problem I could foresee with doing this in Janney is that there are probably plenty of families who COULD easily afford to go, but might prefer not to pay full price. How do you determine who gets the discount? Plenty of wealthy people are quite happy to pay less than what the rest of the world might think is their fair share.

NP. We have a free ticket option for parents who don’t want to pay the ticket price for whatever reason. It hasn’t been abused. In fact, we also offer a way to pay extra and have far more parents paying more than the handful of parents who choose the free option.

Thanks! Are you at Janney? Or a different school?

This is the approach taken at two charters we are familiar with, ITS and MV.

Think this is a more positive approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right. There should be a mechanism for those who truly cannot afford to attend the auction to come. But in reality that is a very small number of families (1% are economically disadvantaged but probably more can't afford a $75 random expenditure). The tickets, however, are not out of line with other schools and at the $75 you can get a ticket for (not the $100 closer to the event) not out of line with what the vast majority can afford. There are the few here (and I think the initial poster falls in this category) that may not want to spend the money on it, but that is a choice. I was more responding to how the initial post read to me - "I want to come but I don't want to spend that much money." Or "I wish this event was cheaper and more casual, but I don't volunteer to help organize it."

+1

The attitude is what is irksome. I understand the pros and cons, but the values against wanting to somehow allow those who cannot, for whatever reason, afford it just because others can, strikes me as out of sync. Why not be inclusive, if you can?


Our school offers a discreet opportunity for those who want to attend to partake. There doesn't seem to be an abuse of this, and the richness of our community is valued in all of it's diverse composition.

One problem I could foresee with doing this in Janney is that there are probably plenty of families who COULD easily afford to go, but might prefer not to pay full price. How do you determine who gets the discount? Plenty of wealthy people are quite happy to pay less than what the rest of the world might think is their fair share.

NP. We have a free ticket option for parents who don’t want to pay the ticket price for whatever reason. It hasn’t been abused. In fact, we also offer a way to pay extra and have far more parents paying more than the handful of parents who choose the free option.

That's dumb, if you can't afford 80 entry how can you afford to buy an auction item

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right. There should be a mechanism for those who truly cannot afford to attend the auction to come. But in reality that is a very small number of families (1% are economically disadvantaged but probably more can't afford a $75 random expenditure). The tickets, however, are not out of line with other schools and at the $75 you can get a ticket for (not the $100 closer to the event) not out of line with what the vast majority can afford. There are the few here (and I think the initial poster falls in this category) that may not want to spend the money on it, but that is a choice. I was more responding to how the initial post read to me - "I want to come but I don't want to spend that much money." Or "I wish this event was cheaper and more casual, but I don't volunteer to help organize it."

+1

The attitude is what is irksome. I understand the pros and cons, but the values against wanting to somehow allow those who cannot, for whatever reason, afford it just because others can, strikes me as out of sync. Why not be inclusive, if you can?


Our school offers a discreet opportunity for those who want to attend to partake. There doesn't seem to be an abuse of this, and the richness of our community is valued in all of it's diverse composition.

One problem I could foresee with doing this in Janney is that there are probably plenty of families who COULD easily afford to go, but might prefer not to pay full price. How do you determine who gets the discount? Plenty of wealthy people are quite happy to pay less than what the rest of the world might think is their fair share.

NP. We have a free ticket option for parents who don’t want to pay the ticket price for whatever reason. It hasn’t been abused. In fact, we also offer a way to pay extra and have far more parents paying more than the handful of parents who choose the free option.

That's dumb, if you can't afford 80 entry how can you afford to buy an auction item

Auction items range from $25-30 for restaurant gift cards to $1000s for vacation homes, unique experiences.

Also, if you factor in two tickets + sitter + $100 auction purchase that could put things out of reach. Making it accessible allows those without the means to participate with dignity. Those who are flush can underwrite discreetly, or splash out by bidding large and flashy. To each his own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right. There should be a mechanism for those who truly cannot afford to attend the auction to come. But in reality that is a very small number of families (1% are economically disadvantaged but probably more can't afford a $75 random expenditure). The tickets, however, are not out of line with other schools and at the $75 you can get a ticket for (not the $100 closer to the event) not out of line with what the vast majority can afford. There are the few here (and I think the initial poster falls in this category) that may not want to spend the money on it, but that is a choice. I was more responding to how the initial post read to me - "I want to come but I don't want to spend that much money." Or "I wish this event was cheaper and more casual, but I don't volunteer to help organize it."

+1

The attitude is what is irksome. I understand the pros and cons, but the values against wanting to somehow allow those who cannot, for whatever reason, afford it just because others can, strikes me as out of sync. Why not be inclusive, if you can?


Our school offers a discreet opportunity for those who want to attend to partake. There doesn't seem to be an abuse of this, and the richness of our community is valued in all of it's diverse composition.

One problem I could foresee with doing this in Janney is that there are probably plenty of families who COULD easily afford to go, but might prefer not to pay full price. How do you determine who gets the discount? Plenty of wealthy people are quite happy to pay less than what the rest of the world might think is their fair share.

NP. We have a free ticket option for parents who don’t want to pay the ticket price for whatever reason. It hasn’t been abused. In fact, we also offer a way to pay extra and have far more parents paying more than the handful of parents who choose the free option.

That's dumb, if you can't afford 80 entry how can you afford to buy an auction item

In addition to being a fundraiser it is a community event.

-A Janney parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And for another approach, look how Ross Elementary manages their auction:

https://one.bidpal.net/rossauction2019/welcome

(No child at Ross, but like the idea!)

Janney has 4 times the enrollment of Ross (vs. 700+ kids vs. 175 kids). Having all the parents attend for free probably wouldn't work for most of the spaces they use.

The auction is at the school and has been since the renovation in 2010-11. I really think this has been the last minute price for a years, tickets were 75$ until a few weeks ago, now 85$ until the end of the month I think. Janney has less per pupil funding than many schools. If funding was even per pupil across the board I think it would be more reasonable to pool auction resources, but I also think they would raise a lot less as parents like helping their own kids’ schools. Janney has in the past both shared a portion of its auction proceeds (this was a number of years ago) and done fundraisers specifically for other schools.

Also, many families, even parents of the younger grades, bought years ago for under $1M. Lots of fed lawyers. Doing well but not wealthy.

If you own a house that's worth close to $1 million, you're wealthy, even if you don't feel like you have the cash flow to spend $150 on auction tickets.

All the elderly widows holding onto their Capitol Hill rowhouses, which they bought for 100k and could now sell for a million, would disagree. Even I would disagree, and we paid 400k for ours over a decade ago. If we sold, where would we live?

Gee. Wherever could you find a home to live with proceeds your 1 million dollar home. P.S. Few elderly widows have Janney aged kids.

And the ones in the Capitol Hill row houses aren't in bounds for Janney anyway.

[Anonymous]

I lost my $150k job and my spouses business collapsed. We are both looking for jobs now, while I collect unemployment. We used to make $300k combined. Wealth here is so skewed and people take it for granted that if you are well educated and your kids go to a good school, you can afford all these fees and fundraisers. Our kids go to different dcps schools, not Janney, but at the more affluent school, the demands for money all the time are ridiculous. At the low income school, it’s a $15 optional donation to join the pta. Out of embarrassment when the other school pta asked for donations to its annual fund, we gave $200. We did not want to be judged, so we gave more than we could afford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right. There should be a mechanism for those who truly cannot afford to attend the auction to come. But in reality that is a very small number of families (1% are economically disadvantaged but probably more can't afford a $75 random expenditure). The tickets, however, are not out of line with other schools and at the $75 you can get a ticket for (not the $100 closer to the event) not out of line with what the vast majority can afford. There are the few here (and I think the initial poster falls in this category) that may not want to spend the money on it, but that is a choice. I was more responding to how the initial post read to me - "I want to come but I don't want to spend that much money." Or "I wish this event was cheaper and more casual, but I don't volunteer to help organize it."

+1

The attitude is what is irksome. I understand the pros and cons, but the values against wanting to somehow allow those who cannot, for whatever reason, afford it just because others can, strikes me as out of sync. Why not be inclusive, if you can?


Our school offers a discreet opportunity for those who want to attend to partake. There doesn't seem to be an abuse of this, and the richness of our community is valued in all of it's diverse composition.

One problem I could foresee with doing this in Janney is that there are probably plenty of families who COULD easily afford to go, but might prefer not to pay full price. How do you determine who gets the discount? Plenty of wealthy people are quite happy to pay less than what the rest of the world might think is their fair share.

NP. We have a free ticket option for parents who don’t want to pay the ticket price for whatever reason. It hasn’t been abused. In fact, we also offer a way to pay extra and have far more parents paying more than the handful of parents who choose the free option.

That's dumb, if you can't afford 80 entry how can you afford to buy an auction item

In addition to being a fundraiser it is a community event.

-A Janney parent.

A community event for those who paid $1 million for modest center hall colomials in AU Park.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear about your family’s challenges. Wishing you all the best to find a new position and for your wife’s business to turnaround.

Hope some families on here can start to look at those around them. From the shutdown to other challenges, understanding other perspectives is more vital than ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right. There should be a mechanism for those who truly cannot afford to attend the auction to come. But in reality that is a very small number of families (1% are economically disadvantaged but probably more can't afford a $75 random expenditure). The tickets, however, are not out of line with other schools and at the $75 you can get a ticket for (not the $100 closer to the event) not out of line with what the vast majority can afford. There are the few here (and I think the initial poster falls in this category) that may not want to spend the money on it, but that is a choice. I was more responding to how the initial post read to me - "I want to come but I don't want to spend that much money." Or "I wish this event was cheaper and more casual, but I don't volunteer to help organize it."

+1

The attitude is what is irksome. I understand the pros and cons, but the values against wanting to somehow allow those who cannot, for whatever reason, afford it just because others can, strikes me as out of sync. Why not be inclusive, if you can?


Our school offers a discreet opportunity for those who want to attend to partake. There doesn't seem to be an abuse of this, and the richness of our community is valued in all of it's diverse composition.

One problem I could foresee with doing this in Janney is that there are probably plenty of families who COULD easily afford to go, but might prefer not to pay full price. How do you determine who gets the discount? Plenty of wealthy people are quite happy to pay less than what the rest of the world might think is their fair share.

NP. We have a free ticket option for parents who don’t want to pay the ticket price for whatever reason. It hasn’t been abused. In fact, we also offer a way to pay extra and have far more parents paying more than the handful of parents who choose the free option.

Thanks! Are you at Janney? Or a different school?

This is the approach taken at two charters we are familiar with, ITS and MV.

Think this is a more positive approach.

Different school. Yes, we took a chance and it's worked out very well. We lowered the overall price. Added a free option. And added a third option for parents to pay more. We were shocked at how many did.