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DC Public and Public Charter Schools
PTA Fees in DCPS Schools
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Anonymous
| The PTA fee is voluntary but how much is "recommended" says alot about what the school's PTA can afford in terms of "extras" such as a science teacher, extra teacher in classroom, supplies, etc. etc. What is that fee in your child's school? Do some, many, most parents pay it? |
Anonymous
| I heard (and this is just a rumor) that Janney & Lafayette are both above $1000 per child. |
Anonymous
| Not true- I believe Janney and Lafayette are around 300. Murch is close to that too. I have heard mann is 1000, but its probably just rumour. |
Anonymous
| Oops- pp here- the PTA dues are 15. The suggested donation is closer to 300 |
Anonymous
| Oyster suggested donation is $500/child |
Anonymous
| This info is often online. For ex, Janney's full "student support fee" is $550 for one child or $1000 for more than one. The ""basic voluntary fee" at Mann is $1500 per child. |
Anonymous
Really, PP? Where? Can you give the URL? Not meaning to be snippy, btw - in fact, genuinely thankful for some useful information. It seems to me that a lot of threads veer off-topic before the important point has been made. Thank you for sharing. |
Anonymous
|
Go to the school's website and click on PTA:
Janney: http://www.janneyschool.org/school_forms/2008PTAallinoneform.pdf Mann: http://www.horacemanndc.org/Pages/pta.php?target=PtWelcome.html |
Anonymous
| After you get to the Mann site, click "Make a pledge." |
Anonymous
|
Shepherd Elem. PTA funds so many things that normally would/should be paid for by the school system (including several staff positions):
PTA dues - $50 Family Enrichment Fee (FEF) - $500 |
Anonymous
| Wow, what happens if this is something you can't afford to pay? We're talking about public schools, after all. |
Anonymous
We couldn't afford to pay the $400+ fee requested at our DCPS school. Nor could most parents. We paid a part. The mantra at the school was everyone should pay something, even if just a token, to symbolize support. There was no high pressure or naming of paid/unpaid families. I believe less than 30% of the school responded to the donation request, resulting in some discussion by the PTA as to why and whether it was a reflection that perhaps parents didn't really think that the PTA was using the money in a valuable way. If your school is asking for this fee, there should be some discussion in PTA meeting minutes of how much such a campaign nets, what is done with the funds, etc. |
Anonymous
| We write a pretty sizeable check to our school every year, because we can afford to and because the money funds important extras for the school. However, I've never gotten the impression that this is a requirement, or that families who don't contribute are somehow ostracized. I also don't participate in Sally Foster or some of the sillier (in my opinion) fund raisers, but I figure that's OK, since I write one substantial check per year. |
Anonymous
|
At our Title I school, the PTA dues are $12.
Since most of our families survive on less that $40K a year, asking them to donate $100s of dollars would be unreasonable. It drives home the fact that even in public school in the District, education is still separate and unequal. |
Anonymous
So do you feel that the wealthier PTA's should subsidize the poorer ones? Or should schools with poorer students receive more "state" funds per student. You need to also consider the wealthy public schools do not recieve grants from non-profits (such as the Gates fund, which gives a lot of money to DC), nor Americorps volunteers or subsidized teachers from Teach for America |