+1 we pay 80$ per ticket at our MCPS elementary school. Hundreds of parents come. |
And our EOTP school sells chips and Capri Suns for $1 at our bake sales. |
| Pp here, our school holds an online auction at no cost. Get with the times people! |
We do too, but still have a party. |
Janney has an online auction in addition to the event/party. |
First, that's insane. She's paying in excess of 50% of her take home pay in rent. Absent really, really hefty support (both child and spousal) payments, it's crazy. Second, it is a fundraiser. The entire purpose of the event is to . . . wait for it . . . raise funds. No one is expecting (or should be, at any rate) people who are stretched to attend, or bid on expensive items. It's not a mandatory attend event. The funds raised help all the kids at the school. You are seriously suggesting that a volunteer organization should suppress the funds it raises because some people in its community can't afford to make the donation required to participate in a fundraising event? The goal is not participation, it's money! Come on, people, get your collective heads out of your collective a$$es. |
Looks like you will be gentrified out hahaha |
Don't think its even worth responding to you, but in the eventuality our kids end up competing together in sports or the arts, I hope you are teaching your children more than what you are conveying in this message anonymously. We all understand that it is a fundraiser, and that there is a cost associated. However, sliding scales, or pay as you can, access should also be a consideration so that its not the "haves" vs the "have nots". Everyone in the school should feel welcome, and the cost of attendance should be approachable for all. Note that other posters have commented on how they have made tickets available for teachers, other families, so that they can also attend. |
| Teachers attend as guests and do not have to pay. |
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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!) |
Snort. The poors are not wanted at Janney and Janney doesn't have to follow those rules. |
OP, lots of school face the issue of balancing fundraising with inclusivity. There's no right or wrong. No matter what volunteer auction committees do, someone won't like it or will have a better idea. As a recovering volunteer of public and private school auctions, I think it would be nice if you find like-minded parents and offer to actually organize it next year. Or you can ignore the fundraising and remember that it's all well-intentioned. Everyone is free to make their own choices and it's really nobody's business. Whether it's $1 Capri Sun or $1,000 Principal for a Day (hate those), isn't it nice to see people being generous? |
More schools should band together, pool fundraising to include all public schools, and find corporate partners for matching so funds are distributed equitably. Auctions are just icky however "necessary". DC is already so unbearably classist and auctions do nothing but reinforce that. |
Janney has 4 times the enrollment of Ross (vs. 700+ kids vs. 175 kids). Having all the parents attend for free probably wouldn't work for most of the spaces they use. |
The auction is at the school and has been since the renovation in 2010-11. I really think this has been the last minute price for a years, tickets were 75$ 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. |