Anonymous wrote:

We pay/have paid full freight for 4 kids and give generous donations both to the annual fund and the designated financial aid fund. The auction makes me cringe. It's not sour grapes, but the live auction seems to me an ostentatious display of wealth that undermines the school's fundamental values. If you want to support financial aid, you can write a check specifically for that purpose. If you want to have fun and meet other parents, volunteer, go to a game or school play, or host a potluck. And, for the record, all of our kids have or will play varsity sports, and, no, they don't need that fancy athletic center.

+1

+2 I find it really tacky, especially with a live auction.

We pay/have paid full freight for 4 kids and give generous donations both to the annual fund and the designated financial aid fund. The auction makes me cringe. It's not sour grapes, but the live auction seems to me an ostentatious display of wealth that undermines the school's fundamental values. If you want to support financial aid, you can write a check specifically for that purpose. If you want to have fun and meet other parents, volunteer, go to a game or school play, or host a potluck. And, for the record, all of our kids have or will play varsity sports, and, no, they don't need that fancy athletic center.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If you don't think your daughter needs an underground athletic facility and other "spurious capital projects and programs," withdraw her from the school. Attendance is voluntary.

Hm, no. We like the core curriculum and teachers, which we believe are not replicated elsewhere. We won't be guilted into kicking in an additional $10,000 a year over $30,000 tuition for over-the-top facilities that didn't draw us to the school in the first place and are ridiculously superfluous.

Put another way, if the administration and board truly believes these luxuries are necessary to an education, fine, build the $X million award-winning green building and raise tuition to $42,000 a year. Bake it right in! and be forthright about your expenditures and costs.

Don't dick around with the low low teaser rate of $30,000 a year, only to pull a bait and switch.

Let's see whether you can do the math. Which would you prefer? Paying $40,000 in tuition? Or paying $30,000 in tuition and $10,000 in donation, which is tax deductible? Duh. Since you are refusing to make that $10,000 donation (you never said you couldn't afford it), you get no tax deduction but you get guilt instead. Too bad.

Unfortunately there are no guarantees on tuition not rising based on donations. I used to think of it as 30 and 10 but then got wind of where some of the 10 went. Financial aid for certain kids that were no credit to the institution. Plus the 30 went up consistently. Auction stuff isn't always FMV . prices start at a nice fat rounded up number. Fine with me since my favorite school 's parents auction benefits faculty and staff.

One more thing -- if I could make a gift specifically for teachers' salaries, I would. The teachers and the kids make the school.

We pay/have paid full freight for 4 kids and give generous donations both to the annual fund and the designated financial aid fund. The auction makes me cringe. It's not sour grapes, but the live auction seems to me an ostentatious display of wealth that undermines the school's fundamental values. If you want to support financial aid, you can write a check specifically for that purpose. If you want to have fun and meet other parents, volunteer, go to a game or school play, or host a potluck. And, for the record, all of our kids have or will play varsity sports, and, no, they don't need that fancy athletic center.

Anonymous wrote:Someone's cranky and should go to bed. Did anyone say pp feels guilty for not making $10,000 donation? In fact, she says she "won't be guilted." I pay $400,000 in taxes per year. That's donation enough.

PP was the first to mention refusing to be "guilted." Why the reference to guilt? If she feels fine about not making the donation, either through the an nual fund or through the auction, then what is her problem with the auction? What is her objection? Sounds as if she does not appreciate the school and the foresight of the administration and should not be there. The school is wasted on her.

Anonymous wrote:

If you don't think your daughter needs an underground athletic facility and other "spurious capital projects and programs," withdraw her from the school. Attendance is voluntary.

Hm, no. We like the core curriculum and teachers, which we believe are not replicated elsewhere. We won't be guilted into kicking in an additional $10,000 a year over $30,000 tuition for over-the-top facilities that didn't draw us to the school in the first place and are ridiculously superfluous.

Put another way, if the administration and board truly believes these luxuries are necessary to an education, fine, build the $X million award-winning green building and raise tuition to $42,000 a year. Bake it right in! and be forthright about your expenditures and costs.

Don't dick around with the low low teaser rate of $30,000 a year, only to pull a bait and switch.

Based on your description, it sounds like this is a well known local school. If you understand land economics and scarcity, you will understand the long term justification for placing that gym underground, in its current location. You should actually be lauding those who made that decision for their foresight. Perhaps you need to consider that any institution wants to be as good as it can for as diverse a student body as possible. Having excellent arts and athletics is part of a mix to provide as top-notch programming as possible.

I would think a parent would be proud of the institution and enjoy the opportunities for their daughter and her classmates, rather than denigrate choices that others might make that, in the long term, benefit you and your family.

Someone's cranky and should go to bed. Did anyone say pp feels guilty for not making $10,000 donation? In fact, she says she "won't be guilted." I pay $400,000 in taxes per year. That's donation enough.

Anonymous wrote:

If you don't think your daughter needs an underground athletic facility and other "spurious capital projects and programs," withdraw her from the school. Attendance is voluntary.

Hm, no. We like the core curriculum and teachers, which we believe are not replicated elsewhere. We won't be guilted into kicking in an additional $10,000 a year over $30,000 tuition for over-the-top facilities that didn't draw us to the school in the first place and are ridiculously superfluous.

Put another way, if the administration and board truly believes these luxuries are necessary to an education, fine, build the $X million award-winning green building and raise tuition to $42,000 a year. Bake it right in! and be forthright about your expenditures and costs.

Don't dick around with the low low teaser rate of $30,000 a year, only to pull a bait and switch.

Let's see whether you can do the math. Which would you prefer? Paying $40,000 in tuition? Or paying $30,000 in tuition and $10,000 in donation, which is tax deductible? Duh. Since you are refusing to make that $10,000 donation (you never said you couldn't afford it), you get no tax deduction but you get guilt instead. Too bad.

Anonymous wrote:

If you don't think your daughter needs an underground athletic facility and other "spurious capital projects and programs," withdraw her from the school. Attendance is voluntary.

Hm, no. We like the core curriculum and teachers, which we believe are not replicated elsewhere. We won't be guilted into kicking in an additional $10,000 a year over $30,000 tuition for over-the-top facilities that didn't draw us to the school in the first place and are ridiculously superfluous.

Put another way, if the administration and board truly believes these luxuries are necessary to an education, fine, build the $X million award-winning green building and raise tuition to $42,000 a year. Bake it right in! and be forthright about your expenditures and costs.

Don't dick around with the low low teaser rate of $30,000 a year, only to pull a bait and switch.

Let's see whether you can do the math. Which would you prefer? Paying $40,000 in tuition? Or paying $30,000 in tuition and $10,000 in donation, which is tax deductible? Duh.

Anonymous wrote:PP: it's very generous of you to donate your summer house. I'm sure the school really appreciates it and I'm sure the people who are the winning bidders are thrilled to get a week in your house. Wow- it must be an amazing house if it rents for ten grand a week. Just out of curiosity, what do you and/or your husband do that allowed you to buy such a fabulous summer house?

Tacky question.

Anonymous wrote:What is FMV?

Fair market value. In this case the $10,000 the vacation house would get if pp rented it out.

What is FMV?

Anonymous wrote:PP: it's very generous of you to donate your summer house. I'm sure the school really appreciates it and I'm sure the people who are the winning bidders are thrilled to get a week in your house. Wow- it must be an amazing house if it rents for ten grand a week. Just out of curiosity, what do you and/or your husband do that allowed you to buy such a fabulous summer house?

I'd love to bid on your summer house. How well do these types of things do in an auction (vs. FMV to you)? Good for you to be so generous.

If you don't think your daughter needs an underground athletic facility and other "spurious capital projects and programs," withdraw her from the school. Attendance is voluntary.

Hm, no. We like the core curriculum and teachers, which we believe are not replicated elsewhere. We won't be guilted into kicking in an additional $10,000 a year over $30,000 tuition for over-the-top facilities that didn't draw us to the school in the first place and are ridiculously superfluous.

Put another way, if the administration and board truly believes these luxuries are necessary to an education, fine, build the $X million award-winning green building and raise tuition to $42,000 a year. Bake it right in! and be forthright about your expenditures and costs.

Don't dick around with the low low teaser rate of $30,000 a year, only to pull a bait and switch.