Can I donate money to my DC school and earmark it for what I want?

[Anonymous]

DC attends an elementary school in MCPS. We have the means to donate money to the school and I feel our PTA poorly manages the money. Can my MCPS school receive a donation from our family where we earmark the purpose of the money?

Examples could include scholarship for teachers to attend continuing Ed, or a buddy bench or new sports equipment for the gym. Nothing big, but meaningful things to us.

[Anonymous]

Talk to the principal and ask what she thinks she needs and buy it. No need to use the pta.

[Anonymous]

Skip the PTA. Our PTA is terrible at managing money.

Ask the school librarian if you want to donate books and she may give you a Wish List.

Contact the PE teacher directly and ask what they need (our ES needed new mats) and how much it would cost. Then see if you can offer that to the Principal.

Our school definitely lets you buy items for specific teachers - anything as small as tissues and Ziplocs to bigger tickets items.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC attends an elementary school in MCPS. We have the means to donate money to the school and I feel our PTA poorly manages the money. Can my MCPS school receive a donation from our family where we earmark the purpose of the money?

Examples could include scholarship for teachers to attend continuing Ed, or a buddy bench or new sports equipment for the gym. Nothing big, but meaningful things to us.

No

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC attends an elementary school in MCPS. We have the means to donate money to the school and I feel our PTA poorly manages the money. Can my MCPS school receive a donation from our family where we earmark the purpose of the money?

Examples could include scholarship for teachers to attend continuing Ed, or a buddy bench or new sports equipment for the gym. Nothing big, but meaningful things to us.

No

That’s untrue.

Our Focus school doesn’t have enough money for teachers to buy basic items for their classroom. Teachers have to solicit parents for EVERYTHING - dry erase markers, highlighters, pens, books, tissues, Lysol wipes, hand soap, headphones, everything and anything you can imagine.

We’re not wealthy (if we were, we’d live in a better cluster), but we always send in extra donations. I guess that’s why MCPS is pushing for ‘diversity’ bussing. MCPS can’t even afford to provide classroom basics for its students. So you need the diversity of incomes to have parents who can afford to pick up the slack.

[Anonymous]

OP, I doubt you could pay for a Continuing Ed scholarship, but you likely could cover an item for the gym. Try for something smaller first so it doesn’t seem over the top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC attends an elementary school in MCPS. We have the means to donate money to the school and I feel our PTA poorly manages the money. Can my MCPS school receive a donation from our family where we earmark the purpose of the money?

Examples could include scholarship for teachers to attend continuing Ed, or a buddy bench or new sports equipment for the gym. Nothing big, but meaningful things to us.

No

That’s untrue.

Our Focus school doesn’t have enough money for teachers to buy basic items for their classroom. Teachers have to solicit parents for EVERYTHING - dry erase markers, highlighters, pens, books, tissues, Lysol wipes, hand soap, headphones, everything and anything you can imagine.

We’re not wealthy (if we were, we’d live in a better cluster), but we always send in extra donations. I guess that’s why MCPS is pushing for ‘diversity’ bussing. MCPS can’t even afford to provide classroom basics for its students. So you need the diversity of incomes to have parents who can afford to pick up the slack.

Except that MCPS is not doing that.

[Anonymous]

Our teachers have definitely asked for larger-than-tissue-box donations. For example one wanted a classroom full of alternative seating (yoga balls, stools, etc) and sent parents links the the preferred options. Whether they can accept money, I don't know. There may be a lot of accounting headache with that. But the principal can direct you to more needed items to purchase and they can definitely accept those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our teachers have definitely asked for larger-than-tissue-box donations. For example one wanted a classroom full of alternative seating (yoga balls, stools, etc) and sent parents links the the preferred options. Whether they can accept money, I don't know. There may be a lot of accounting headache with that. But the principal can direct you to more needed items to purchase and they can definitely accept those.

This.

I would feel weird giving teachers money anyway.

But there’s even a website where you can search teacher’s classrooms and donate to them. So this would seem like the same type of thing.

Last year, my neighbor’s kid had a brand new teacher. Teacher had very little in the classroom when the neighbor went to the Open house. Parents got together and purchased a rug and designed a reading nook for the classroom, purchased books, bulletin board supplies, etc.

Teachers end up spending a good amount of their own money on supplies for the class. Whatever you can give is helpful!

[Anonymous]

I don't know how much you are thinking about donating but unless it's in hundreds of thousands/millions, why not just get school supplies for teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how much you are thinking about donating but unless it's in hundreds of thousands/millions, why not just get school supplies for teachers?

I’m pretty sure that is what OP is asking. She wants to clarify what constitutes ‘school supplies’ and is trying to get a feel for what types of things she can and can’t purchase.

[Anonymous]

I imagine you can personally donate the same things the PTAs and booster clubs can donate. So you can buy a HS team new uniforms, but you can’t pay for an extra coach. You can buy a rug or flexible seating but you can’t pay for a classroom aide. And if the principal is opposed to flexible seating, you might not be able to buy that. I don’t think you can usually just give more than $25 in cash, “earmarked” or not. Creates too many opportunities for unethical conduct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how much you are thinking about donating but unless it's in hundreds of thousands/millions, why not just get school supplies for teachers?

I’m pretty sure that is what OP is asking. She wants to clarify what constitutes ‘school supplies’ and is trying to get a feel for what types of things she can and can’t purchase.

OP doesn't know what school supplies are?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC attends an elementary school in MCPS. We have the means to donate money to the school and I feel our PTA poorly manages the money. Can my MCPS school receive a donation from our family where we earmark the purpose of the money?

Examples could include scholarship for teachers to attend continuing Ed, or a buddy bench or new sports equipment for the gym. Nothing big, but meaningful things to us.

No

That’s untrue.

Our Focus school doesn’t have enough money for teachers to buy basic items for their classroom. Teachers have to solicit parents for EVERYTHING - dry erase markers, highlighters, pens, books, tissues, Lysol wipes, hand soap, headphones, everything and anything you can imagine.

We’re not wealthy (if we were, we’d live in a better cluster), but we always send in extra donations. I guess that’s why MCPS is pushing for ‘diversity’ bussing. MCPS can’t even afford to provide classroom basics for its students. So you need the diversity of incomes to have parents who can afford to pick up the slack.

You did not read the question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I imagine you can personally donate the same things the PTAs and booster clubs can donate. So you can buy a HS team new uniforms, but you can’t pay for an extra coach. You can buy a rug or flexible seating but you can’t pay for a classroom aide. And if the principal is opposed to flexible seating, you might not be able to buy that. I don’t think you can usually just give more than $25 in cash, “earmarked” or not. Creates too many opportunities for unethical conduct.

Would agree with this.

It might be difficult to donate money and say that is he used for a specific item. Easier to ask what item is needed and simply purchase the one they need.