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

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

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

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The funding at Janney and Mann (and Lafayette, Murch and Key and others I suspect) is about extra teachers/para professionals in the classroom.  They fund supplies so that the schools can use their actual budget for teachers.  It is not that DCPS does not fund supplies, it is that if a school does not need to spend the money on supplies (because the supplies are provided by the PTA) it will have more to spend on humans in the classroom.  The schools in question have the lowest per pupil budgets in the city and the gap is not made-up for by fundraising.

Also, when I was last a Janney parent in the 2018-2019 school year the PTA did not fund field trips.  There was a separate charge for field trips that parents could either pay all at once or they could choose to pay as you go.  There were also funds to pay for field trips for low income families.

As a NWDC DCPS parent of almost 11 years I have rarely met a parent that did not want to do something to benefit students across the city.  That is not inconsistent with taking steps to ensure one's own children have their educational needs met.  If you make people choose between the two they will choose their own children every time, this is neither surprising nor wrong.  It does not have to be a choice, it just makes. a better story.[/quote]

Funding your school but not other is not a choice, it is being selfish. The choice should be between funding schools or not. If there were not PTAs circumventing the rules, parents of public school students would be forced to either send their kids to private schools or support providing all schools with enough funding to meet the needs of the students.[/quote]

Which rules?[/quote]

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.[/quote]

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.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics