Mann and Janney PTAs called out in NYTs op-ed for perpetuating segregation in cities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do they know NW parents don’t vote for equal funding?? My kid goes to a dcps with a well funded PTA, and I would vote in additional funds for all of dcps in a second. The pta shaming is just a version of blaming “white women” for everything.

This is a little weird. I have a lot of admiration for the NYT editorial board, but their assertion here way oversimplifies the issue and the facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Because there are more poor children EOTP with working parents who need free breakfast. Would you let little Isolde or Tristram eat a FARMS breakfast? One suspects not.

Little Isolde will only eat imported cheeses and Tristam objects to any flour that hasn't been hand milled, so no. But we have arranged visits to FARMS schools so they can gaze upon the cafeteria selections and develop a social conscious. We want them to follow your example and cultivate an appropriate level of righteous indignation without needing to empathize or understand each side.

[Anonymous]

When my kid went to a title 1 school EOTP, we never were asked to bring any school supplies at the start of school. It was provided for us.

And yes, my DS ate the free breakfast that was provided to all and the free lunch. Aftercare was free and dinner was free if needed. There was free PK-3 which saved a full year of preschool tuition.

There was a PTA but no one wanted to engage or fundraise. Nor could they because many families did not speak english and did not have extra money laying around.

Our DS got an excellent education and the teachers and resources were great. This was all without PTA money.

[Anonymous]

The entire point of the article is that city governments are not providing adequate infrastructure and services. That, of course, is true and is why NWDC parents started raising large sums of money to compensate in the first place. My oldest started DCPS in the early 2000s. It was nothing like it is now. Parents banded together out of sheer necessity.

Today, despite significantly improved functionality, the DC government still chronically underfunds schools. I would be more than happy if my taxes were raised and allocated reduce class size and provide better specials and wraparound services for those students in need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This does not take into account that schools EOTP have free PK3, more funding per child, free meals, and many other resources that are not given to WOTP schools. And no one is complaining about that.

The reality is that WOTP schools are overcrowded and the parents have to make up the difference between what DCPS provides and what is needed.

I'll give you some examples of what our PTA funds are used for in our WOTP school: field trip costs because DCPS charges us for the bus, smartboard repairs because they break and we need them repaired, classroom supplies for teachers so they don't have to spend their own money, etc.

As parents, we are expected to bring a huge box of supplies for the school at the beginning of the year because IT IS NOT COVERED BY THE DCPS BUDGET. Clorox wipes, paper towels, tissues, dry erase markers, pencils, crayons, paper, and so on.

We still have the same DCPS curriculum as everyone else. We have overcrowded classrooms. Not sure what folks are up in arms about.

Because there are more poor children EOTP with working parents who need free breakfast. Would you let little Isolde or Tristram eat a FARMS breakfast? One suspects not.

There's not a special "FARMS" breakfast, it's just whatever the school has. I'm UMC and I pay for the school meals. They're fine! I recommend this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All these people complaining about overcrowded WOTP schools--will you support redistricting to shrink the zones for overcrowded schools and shift kids to schools with extra capacity?

And once your kids are shifted, will you give the same amount of time and money to your new IB school as you currently give?

Are you maintaining OOB rights while simultaneously shrinking zones?

[Anonymous]

What's so wrong with parents contributing to a PTA for their kid's school? I disagree with the premise that this is a bad thing, or that it sows discord within the city. Asian cultures value education and prioritize it with their resources. Why should parents of any culture be criticized for this? Another example of NYT's liberal apologist guilt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All these people complaining about overcrowded WOTP schools--will you support redistricting to shrink the zones for overcrowded schools and shift kids to schools with extra capacity?

And once your kids are shifted, will you give the same amount of time and money to your new IB school as you currently give?

Are you maintaining OOB rights while simultaneously shrinking zones?

I personally think we should end OOB feeder rights. When you get into a school OOB you have rights to it only through its terminal grade. Perhaps there could be a feeder school preference and my guess is that will be the compromise position, but I'd be glad to have no feeder rights at all. Someone in 5th grade OOB at Hyde-Addison would have just as much right to a Hardy seat as someone in 5th grade at Janney or Powell or Miner or Savoy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The entire point of the article is that city governments are not providing adequate infrastructure and services. That, of course, is true and is why NWDC parents started raising large sums of money to compensate in the first place. My oldest started DCPS in the early 2000s. It was nothing like it is now. Parents banded together out of sheer necessity.

Today, despite significantly improved functionality, the DC government still chronically underfunds schools. I would be more than happy if my taxes were raised and allocated reduce class size and provide better specials and wraparound services for those students in need.

There you go. Remember who the enemy is. It's inept government and administration who fail to provide for basics across the board.

[Anonymous]

I would absolutely vote for more funding for schools (white woman whose kid goes to high performing school). However, money clearly isn't the problem because DC spends an incredible amoutn per student. The problems are more entrenched. But I would 100% be for more money. Also, I can tell you that a stupid amount of money our school raises goes to useless things like tablets for kids and large screen TVs which I believe to be harmful for elementary students' learning. Rich people silly like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's so wrong with parents contributing to a PTA for their kid's school? I disagree with the premise that this is a bad thing, or that it sows discord within the city. Asian cultures value education and prioritize it with their resources. Why should parents of any culture be criticized for this? Another example of NYT's liberal apologist guilt.

They're not critiquing the idea of parents raising funds for schools per se. They're arguing (without proof) that rich DCPS parents would rather pay the PTA directly than have their taxes raised to help fund schools throughout the city.

I think they miss the mark in alleging that well-off DCPS families are resisting taxation - property taxes (the primary revenue source for schools in the US) are quite low compared to those paid in MD and VA. If there is substantial low-tax advocacy in the District, it's probably coming from the business community; this probably explains Bowser's aversion to increasing school budgets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would absolutely vote for more funding for schools (white woman whose kid goes to high performing school). However, money clearly isn't the problem because DC spends an incredible amoutn per student. The problems are more entrenched. But I would 100% be for more money. Also, I can tell you that a stupid amount of money our school raises goes to useless things like tablets for kids and large screen TVs which I believe to be harmful for elementary students' learning. Rich people silly like that.

I agree. It's not just a matter of funding. It's expecting schools to provide a ton of social services/compensate for students' home/neighborhood lives. Kids who come to school hungry, kids who can't do their homework because they lack space and materials at home or because there's no adult there (or at least not one who can help with homework, for a variety of reasons) or because home is chaotic or unsafe, or because their neighborhood is unsafe, etc. It's not just "bad parenting." But we expect schools to manage all of that.

That said, I would happily pay more if the money was effectively used to help underperforming schools, or to make it so that parents and teachers don't have to spend their own money for school supplies, etc. And some of the fancy stuff our HSA money goes to isn't necessary for a good education. (Some of it is helpful, for sure, and funds things that every school should have.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The entire point of the article is that city governments are not providing adequate infrastructure and services. That, of course, is true and is why NWDC parents started raising large sums of money to compensate in the first place. My oldest started DCPS in the early 2000s. It was nothing like it is now. Parents banded together out of sheer necessity.

Today, despite significantly improved functionality, the DC government still chronically underfunds schools. I would be more than happy if my taxes were raised and allocated reduce class size and provide better specials and wraparound services for those students in need.

There you go. Remember who the enemy is. It's inept government and administration who fail to provide for basics across the board.

I am the PP you are referencing and my quibble with your response would be that I'm not charging ineptitude, I am charging chronic underfunding. There is a difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harshburger!

Even in cities where the rich and poor continue to live under the same local government, economic segregation saps political support for common, egalitarian infrastructure. Rich New Yorkers donate generously to beautify Central Park while resisting the taxation necessary to maintain parks in neighborhoods they never visit. In Washington, D.C., parents in wealthier neighborhoods contribute lavishly to parent-teacher organizations that provide extra money to public schools in their neighborhoods, but they do not vote for a similar level of funding for all city schools. Two schools in northwest Washington each raised more than half a million dollars in 2017, while several schools in southeast Washington don’t even have parent-teacher organizations. Last year, for the third time since 1970, the residents of Gwinnett County, Ga., which sits on the edge of Atlanta, refused to fund an expansion of the regional transit system into their suburban county.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/opinion/coronavirus-us-cities-inequality.html

We've paid our taxes. It's up to the government to figure out how to spend it, equitably (however you define it) or otherwise. If you don't like it, vote them out. Stop shaming people for not voting for an extra special assessment. It's just a way for politicians to divide and conquer.

I'll stop thinking that these inequitable PTA budgets are shameful if you promise not to object if the D.C. Council proposes raising your taxes to add $500,000 in funds to every elementary school in the city besides Janney and Mann. That way, everybody wins!

PP, you're dreaming. The 500K allocations to overwhelmingly low SES schools would mostly be blown by admins on BS pet projects. In high
capacity DCPS programs uber educated and parents with serious organization savvy steer the money to useful things, and provide much needed oversight.
Period.

+1000 I work in DCPS and the amount of money wasted by principals and central office folk is shocking. One high school bought $70 K in supplies for a specialized curriculum for a certain subject but it was all abandoned when the teacher they had hired for it quit. The supplies and equipment were never used and are just sitting gathering dust. Do you know how many laptops and iPads have mysteriously disappeared from certain schools without a trace. Schools act like they have no idea what happened but they should just be replaced. Same with AV equipment. Grant money is often not processed by the school or central and then has to be returned. More money is not the issue. It is mismanagement at every level. Very unfortunate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The entire point of the article is that city governments are not providing adequate infrastructure and services. That, of course, is true and is why NWDC parents started raising large sums of money to compensate in the first place. My oldest started DCPS in the early 2000s. It was nothing like it is now. Parents banded together out of sheer necessity.

Today, despite significantly improved functionality, the DC government still chronically underfunds schools. I would be more than happy if my taxes were raised and allocated reduce class size and provide better specials and wraparound services for those students in need.

There you go. Remember who the enemy is. It's inept government and administration who fail to provide for basics across the board.

I am the PP you are referencing and my quibble with your response would be that I'm not charging ineptitude, I am charging chronic underfunding. There is a difference.

I wasn't quibbling with you - I agree with you. And I think there's a relationship between ineptitude and underfunding.