Kids who needed financial assistance were supposed to contact the band director. How the cost (or partial deduction) would be covered was not specified. It was also not specified what families needed to submit to show financial need.

Our family income would be considered high by county standards, probably middle income for the school. However, our discretionary income is not extravagant after monthly expenses are paid. It would be embarrassing to ask for a handout and I would not want to disclose private financial information to school officials. There are also FARMS kids in our school that I would think should be given priority for financial assistance.

I lieu of asking for financial assistance, some kids are staying behind because of the expense. It seems disappointing that for a school sponsored activity that children are excluded because of the insensitivity of the planners to consider the cost prohibitive. This problem is ingrained in many activities at the school.

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there funds to help kids who can't pay? I know in MS the permission slip had a spot where you could offer to pay for other kids. In our ES the PTA would pay if kids couldn't and some of us paid for other kids. And while the band trips are pricey, I've really never heard of kids being left out due to money.

I can't speak for the MCPS school but I can as a PTA officer, we have a budget line item for "scholarships" which are funds for for financially needy kids that we give to the school to cover kids who can't afford after school clubs, field trips, etc...

Personally I've never heard of a band trip that was this expensive, this is not a "band" trip but really a mini vacation for kids, we would be unable to cover paying, for example, 10 kids at 1400 a head, 14 thousand dollars! The educational value would not justify that amount of money. Like someone else suggested, the cost of inablity to pay for the trip was included in the cost of the trip.

Just remember that there is no magic fund for the PTA, it all comes from parent donations and 1400 per student is crazy high and we are in a BCC cluster school.

Aren't there funds to help kids who can't pay? I know in MS the permission slip had a spot where you could offer to pay for other kids. In our ES the PTA would pay if kids couldn't and some of us paid for other kids. And while the band trips are pricey, I've really never heard of kids being left out due to money.

Aren't there funds to help kids who can't pay? I know in MS the permission slip had a spot where you could offer to pay for other kids. In our ES the PTA would pay if kids couldn't and some of us paid for other kids. And while the band trips are pricey, I've really never heard of kids being left out due to money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back to School means constant notices for this Class Fee and that PTA Dues or Field Trip Notices in MCPS.

Sure there are caveats to contact the teacher or Principal if we need help. But honestly, why shouldn't they consider a $1,400.00 band trip to be TOO EXPENSIVE for a lot of middle class families? Why don't they consider it is embarrassing/stigmatizing for your child to be left out and at the same time, I shouldn't have to disclose our family's financial situation for my child to fully participate in activities at school?

If you get a payment plan 1400 is only 117 a month.

There are many people for whom an additional $117 a month is not "only". True fact.

I'm a teacher (MCPS) and I couldn't swing this for my kid if we were in this school. So sorry, OP.

We pay our fee, which is $15 for family. And then we donate $75 each year.

rather do that than sell goddamn wrapping paper

Anonymous wrote:Mcps now puts the activity fund audit reports online so you can see how your school has done.
And if you think that all the schools have pristine audit reports, just google "Rock Terrace School." Mcps is still trying to fix the problems caused by loose and sloppy financial dealings there.

Here is the link so you can find your school's audit. http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/iaf/

Mcps now puts the activity fund audit reports online so you can see how your school has done.
And if you think that all the schools have pristine audit reports, just google "Rock Terrace School." Mcps is still trying to fix the problems caused by loose and sloppy financial dealings there.

The checks are made out to the name of the school, not the PTA. I am also not suggesting outright fraud, just the possibility that funds could be unaccounted for and not spent for their intended purpose.

For example, say $140,000 is collected and paid to XYZ High School. If the total trip expenses ends up being $135,000 - what does the school or MCPS do with the leftover $5,000? Also in the reverse, what if actual expenses are $145,000? What line item in the school's budget or MCPS's budget does the extra $5,000 get paid from?


These are good questions to ask your principal. Your principal knows (or should know) the answer. DCUM does not know the answer.

I agree with the poster that is suspicious of the funding. I am on a PTA board and we have had many problems with providing funds to our principal and NOT getting an accounting of what is spent or we find out that a large ticket item, for example auditorium sound equipment gets donated by a parent owned business, and we can't get our PTA funds back.

The 1400 does sound high, I wonder if they are starting out by factoring in the chaperone's trip expenses the amount they will subsidize for financial hardship students.