Mann and Janney PTAs called out in NYTs op-ed for perpetuating segregation in cities
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Anonymous
you are glossing over what makes schools high-performing and who is not high-preforming. But you like society to be a buffet with a spot reserved for you at the front of the line. You don't want equality, just access to the privilege you publicly decry |
Anonymous
Which rules? |
Anonymous
How about PTA.org https://www.pta.org/home/run-your-pta/one-voice-blog/Is-Your-PTA-an-ATM-for-Your-School: "PTAs are not an additional funding sources for goods, services and payroll for public schools. School funds should be supplied by governmental entities. PTAs advocate for the adequate funding of schools from governmental sources. They do not replace funds not supplied by governments. Therefore, supplies purchased using PTA funds should be given directly to children, not to teachers." Sure the JKLM PTAs do not break the letter of any law, but they are breaking the spirit of the PTA which is to advocate for adequate funding of schools from governmental sources. the reason Ward 3 parents are not up in arms about the state of DCPS is that the PTAs cover a lot of extras. |
Anonymous
So not breaking any DCPS rules and where a school has an HSA, not even breaking any PTA rules. Got it. Thanks. |
Anonymous
PTA is a national organization to which most PTOs/HSAs are not a member. There are NO rules. |
Anonymous
If this annoys you, then you should copy what is done and get a group of parents to organize a school auction, sell Christmas trees in the winter, get local businesses to support you. The money is raised with a lot of free hours logged by parents. This model is available to everyone to emulate. |
Anonymous
Easier said than done. Who do you think buys the items at the auction? Parents who can afford it. How do you think HSAs pay for those Christmas trees to sell? With money raised from parents. Who do think does all that work getting businesses to donate? Parents with the time because that aren’t working two jobs. This is why extra funds should and do go to schools that need them. What I don’t get is why anyone would oppose anyone giving money to public schools. |
Anonymous
Yeah I hear you and I know what you say is true.....but you could still organize and do what you can. I grew up in a working class town. We raised money in high school for field trips by parents and students picking up trash at the town festivals, washing cars in our school parking lot, selling Xmas trees, and can recycling drives. We funded two school trips from the east coast to see the Everglades in Florida and to the Grand Canyon in Arizona. There are moms I know who have organized auctions in ward 3 that are dual full time workers too. |
Anonymous
So they should be advocating for equal funding? You do realize that Janney et al get less funding from DCPS right? That the PTA covers the gap and thereby allows them not to complain about the unequal funding. |
Anonymous
I'm a member of one of most active PTAs EOTP and we still raise less than 100K at the end of all that. The idea that elementary school PTAs are able to raise half a million dollars every year blows my mind. |
Anonymous
Please name your school. We can then compare the total dollars spent per student (DCPS funding plus PTA funds) between your school versus Mann and Janney. Also, at 750 students, Janney is over twice the size of the average EOTP elementary school. So consider that when comparing PTA budgets. |
Anonymous
This. You have to factor in school size and compare apples to apples. At a school with 1000 students, of course Janney is going to raise more money by parent contribution, in addition to having more people which equals more time to organize and run fundraising events. I am an EOTP parent with a child at a desirable charter. We raise about 150k a year which is fine but our school is nowhere close to the huge size of Janney and unrealistic to say we are able to raise what they raise. |
Anonymous
When you look at the actual funding data provided by DCPS, the spending gap per student between a school like Janney and EOTP schools is remarkable. Janney's PTA budget is a drop in the bucket. Below I compare Janney's 2020 budget allocation per student to that of the elementary schools that feed the Cordoza Education Campus. I picked Cordoza just as an example and the story remains the same regardless of the particular neighborhood HS. All of the data are pulled from https://www.dcpsdatacenter.com/fy20_submitted.html#Janney%20ES. DCPS allocates about $10,400 per student to Janney versus $14,500 to $17,100 per student at the elementary schools that feed Cardoza. In other words, the per student funding at these schools $4,000 to $6,000 higher than Janney. For the Janney PTA to equalize the student funding received by other schools, it would have to raise $3.1 to $5.0 million per year. It of course does not raise funds anywhere near these amounts. This is why those of us in the know are so angry with the NYTimes. That said, ironically the Times is right when they say that D.C. "parents in wealthier neighborhoods... do not vote for a similar level of funding for all city schools." However, they get the story totally backwards! We vote to fund schools in other neighborhoods at 50% higher spending than the schools in our own neighborhoods!! [School] [# of Students] [Budget $ Millions] [Per Student Funding] [Per Student Funding Above Janney] [Janney PTA Funds Needed to Equalize Spending Per Student] Janney 743 $7.7 $10,363 Cleveland 300 $5.0 $16,667 $6,303 $4.7 million Seaton 403 $6.9 $17,122 $6,758 $5.0 million Ross 181 $2.9 $16,022 $5,659 $4.2 million Garrison 284 $4.8 $16,901 $6,538 $4.9 million SWW @ FS 495 $7.2 $14,545 $4,182 $3.1 million |
Anonymous
By choice I meant between staying in DCPS or moving to another school district because The city removes the means to make DCPS workable for families with choices. Those are the only real choices parents have, to vote with their feet when it is t working. That is my power as an UMC parent, to take my smart children out of a failing system and ensure they will be served better somewhere else. Parents are not somehow choosing to fund their own schools at the expense of other schools being deprived, all the other schools get more money than the elementary schools at issue herr (Janney and Mann) on a per pupil basis and that is why the PTA’s fundraise. It is laughable to think NWDC parents could get what they need from DCPS if the ability to fundraise to cover gaps is taken away. The budgets for these elementary schools are cut every year. Another PP documented the 4-6K per pupil funding gap. Take the money away and put it into the black hole of DCPS to manage for the “benefit” other schools and see how that goes. |
Anonymous
Wow! Now I want to see them all. Ross gets $6k more per student than Janney. That's crazy! |