Anonymous wrote:How do you think most sports related upgrades are paid for? By booster money. This is not from the school budget. The parents contribute and raise the money. It buys score boards, signs, maybe a new pa. The drama club has boosters at schools. How do you think they afford to build sets now, buy mics.

The money is raised for a purpose. And the school gets to be the benefactor in the end.

They get a state of the art scoreboard thanks to the parents. A local company gets to sell and install it, keeping them in business, etc.

Get your facts straight it isn't school money. And if the parents at other schools would step up they too could have the things that the Rockville Chevy chase Potomac Bethesda clusters have.

Of course, that is why those clusters have by far the very best schools in the county. Because the parents have the $$$ to rise to the occasion. Location, location, location.

Anonymous wrote:Even if the $80k came from a well-run concession stand and even if the parents and boosters are perfectly within their rights, doesn't it seem a little offensive to be flaunting wealth like that given that certain basic student needs aren't being met elsewhere in the county due to budget cuts? Do what you want. That's fine. But don't pretend this is all about lazy parents who won't run a concession stand as opposed to an example of the haves and have nots in the county.

Anonymous wrote:Even if the $80k came from a well-run concession stand and even if the parents and boosters are perfectly within their rights, doesn't it seem a little offensive to be flaunting wealth like that given that certain basic student needs aren't being met elsewhere in the county due to budget cuts? Do what you want. That's fine. But don't pretend this is all about lazy parents who won't run a concession stand as opposed to an example of the haves and have nots in the county.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Just to be clear, I don't wish our schools were getting an $80,000 scoreboard. It is just difficult to see this visible reminder of the wealth disparity that has come to define MoCo schools. And to the poster who suggests that a concession stand is the answer, it feels a little like you're saying we're not just poor, we're also lazy.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Just to be clear, I don't wish our schools were getting an $80,000 scoreboard. It is just difficult to see this visible reminder of the wealth disparity that has come to define MoCo schools. And to the poster who suggests that a concession stand is the answer, it feels a little like you're saying we're not just poor, we're also lazy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know it's booster-funded, but given the basic needs that we can't meet downcounty, and the obvious fundraising limitations for socioeconomically disadvantaged clusters, it is really difficult to hear that some schools have a surplus in an amount that exceeds what our school has raised, cumulatively, in the past two decades, give or take a thousand.

Well....those individuals pay taxes and raised money for the sign. Of course donations can be written off...but districts provide additional funding to schools with higher % of specific demographics.

I doubt it was surplus but rather funds raised for a specific objective. Private individuals/organizations are expected to fund synthetic turf fields in Fairfax in higher socioeconomic areas.

We all pay taxes. We all pay the same tax rate, in fact. There is no "more taxes, so we deserve better schools" area in MoCo.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know it's booster-funded, but given the basic needs that we can't meet downcounty, and the obvious fundraising limitations for socioeconomically disadvantaged clusters, it is really difficult to hear that some schools have a surplus in an amount that exceeds what our school has raised, cumulatively, in the past two decades, give or take a thousand.

Well....those individuals pay taxes and raised money for the sign. Of course donations can be written off...but districts provide additional funding to schools with higher % of specific demographics.

I doubt it was surplus but rather funds raised for a specific objective. Private individuals/organizations are expected to fund synthetic turf fields in Fairfax in higher socioeconomic areas.

Anonymous wrote:I know it's booster-funded, but given the basic needs that we can't meet downcounty, and the obvious fundraising limitations for socioeconomically disadvantaged clusters, it is really difficult to hear that some schools have a surplus in an amount that exceeds what our school has raised, cumulatively, in the past two decades, give or take a thousand.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Just to be clear, I don't wish our schools were getting an $80,000 scoreboard. It is just difficult to see this visible reminder of the wealth disparity that has come to define MoCo schools. And to the poster who suggests that a concession stand is the answer, it feels a little like you're saying we're not just poor, we're also lazy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The county has strict rules about what parents/booster clubs can provide. My kids are at a wealthy school and we can buy things like promethean boards, security cameras, sports equipment, etc. We can't add staff, hire coaches, or anything like that. I don't think a scoreboard will improve the performance of the Churchill teams. And it means that the county doesn't have to pay for a scoreboard and can use that money for other schools.

Our sports booster club raises a lot of money from the concession stand, which is run and staffed entirely by parents. I go to other schools for events and their concession stand isn't open. So some of you complainers may want to take the lead and organize concessions sales.

I would be willing to bet that there are a higher percentage of SAH parents available for volunteering at Churchill events compared to other DCC schools. Part of the reason there is less parent involvement at more economically disadvantaged schools is because the parents are often working long hours or multiple jobs. Not saying that the working parents at Churchill don't work hard, just saying that lower paying jobs tend to be less flexible when it comes to work schedules.

Could be, although the parents seem to show up for games so they've got some flexibility. I work full time, travel heavily, and have spent hours working in concessions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The county has strict rules about what parents/booster clubs can provide. My kids are at a wealthy school and we can buy things like promethean boards, security cameras, sports equipment, etc. We can't add staff, hire coaches, or anything like that. I don't think a scoreboard will improve the performance of the Churchill teams. And it means that the county doesn't have to pay for a scoreboard and can use that money for other schools.

Our sports booster club raises a lot of money from the concession stand, which is run and staffed entirely by parents. I go to other schools for events and their concession stand isn't open. So some of you complainers may want to take the lead and organize concessions sales.

I would be willing to bet that there are a higher percentage of SAH parents available for volunteering at Churchill events compared to other DCC schools. Part of the reason there is less parent involvement at more economically disadvantaged schools is because the parents are often working long hours or multiple jobs. Not saying that the working parents at Churchill don't work hard, just saying that lower paying jobs tend to be less flexible when it comes to work schedules.

Could be, although the parents seem to show up for games so they've got some flexibility. I work full time, travel heavily, and have spent hours working in concessions.

Anonymous wrote:Opening a concession stand. Ok. Problem solved!!!