Does Booster thon do background checks on their staff? After what happened at that school in Prince Georges County with the Sexual abuse I am especially concerned about people with unfettered access to young children and bribing them with prizes.

Also, can parents review the Booaterthon curriculum???

Anonymous wrote:
I'm on the board of our PTA - over my dead body.

Have they ever tried to do this or has it just never been a thing at your school. I am trying to figure out how it gets started?

Anonymous wrote:
I'm on the board of our PTA - over my dead body.

If only all PTA's could be this strong. Kudos to you!

I'm on the board of our PTA - over my dead body.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone get the feeling there is just one person on here just posting weird retorts in hopes of getting people to actually like the Boosterthon? Very strange for a "mom" to be that adamant about a fundraiser and just keep bashing concerned comments. I don't get it.

It sounds like the PTA needs to put an asterick at the bottom of the flyers noting the percentage that go to the school. At least that takes the heat off of them. Would that work. Does that make it better?

there is a PTA person at my school who loves the boosterathon. So there is one person in real life.

Why does this person love it? Just curious

she believes it raises more money than anything else.

Does she let the student body and families know that 50% of their money doesn't go to the PTA? If not,it is practically embezzlement.

No one knows in my school but the small group of PTA moms. Everyone else is led to believe all the proceeds go to the school.

I thought Maryland PTA said you are not allowed to use kids for fundraising and you can't use instructional time. Doesn't that mean Boosterthon should be a no go since it does both?

I'd suggest writing a letter to the principal and copying the area superintendent, new superintendent and BOE. MCPS has no power to tell PTAs who they can or can not hire to fund raise. Its a separate organization. At some schools though its the principal pushing the PTA for Boosterthon and more money.

MCPS can control this and get their principals to not be the main advocate for Boosterthon. MCPS can control who goes into the classroom. I'm shocked that they allow these companies into the schools, and give them daily instructional time to make young kids feel bad if they didn't raise enough money.

I'm actually surprised that they way Boosterthon operates doesn't already violate MCPS policies. Boosterthon contracts are set up as gross/profit sharing rather than a flat expense to run. In this relationship, Boosterthon is advertising its product to make money in the school and is not just a work for hire organization performing a service. MCPS already disallows commercial interests from advertising within schools. Commercial groups can't send home flyers outside the designated quarterly flyer distribution process. MCPS is violating the spirit of its own regulations by allowing companies under this arrangement to operate within the school.

Anonymous wrote:Younger kids in particular had a hard time because everyone who got pledges got a bracelet. The others didn't. Then the prizes started coming home, and it got even worse.

Terrible. Would it be wrong to try and bring this to the County Boards attention or is this something they would not handle. I personally feel that this is not only demeaning to students but that they are encouraging kids to beg for money that is being misappropriated from their families.

Younger kids in particular had a hard time because everyone who got pledges got a bracelet. The others didn't. Then the prizes started coming home, and it got even worse.

Go and watch when they have the daily huddles. You'll see it in action.

Anonymous wrote:Boosterthon works on a sliding scale. The less you raise, the bigger the cut they take.

They disrupt classes every day for a week and a half. They read the names of the kids who got pledges each day and have them stand up to be recognized. Imagine how that makes the kids who can't raise money feel. We had kids who were asking not to go to school because they didn't want to be publicly embarrassed again.

Can someone verify if this is true? We wrote a check to the PTA already and now they are doing a Boosterthon in April. After hearing from a friend that they take half the profits, I do not want to donate anymore money this year. But i don't want my child being guilted as others are standing up to cheers because they raised money and she didn't. This can't really happen, does it?

Amazing that this is legal. You people need to stop it at your school. Get other parents on board with you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone get the feeling there is just one person on here just posting weird retorts in hopes of getting people to actually like the Boosterthon? Very strange for a "mom" to be that adamant about a fundraiser and just keep bashing concerned comments. I don't get it.

It sounds like the PTA needs to put an asterick at the bottom of the flyers noting the percentage that go to the school. At least that takes the heat off of them. Would that work. Does that make it better?

there is a PTA person at my school who loves the boosterathon. So there is one person in real life.

Why does this person love it? Just curious

she believes it raises more money than anything else.

Does she let the student body and families know that 50% of their money doesn't go to the PTA? If not,it is practically embezzlement.

Of course they don't. Who would donate? It is a scam

We had the Boosterthon fun run one year and no one was made aware that half the proceeds (actually 55%) went back to Boosterthon and not our school. Once a few unhappy PTA parents started talking it spread like wild fire the day of the event. I was one of the clueless ones. The next PTA meeting was a zoo! So many complaints and we fortunately never had it again. We made $18,000 but over $22,000 went to the company. Money the parents assumed most of which was going towards the school's playground which was going to cost $25,000. It was insane how it completely backfired.

The following year they did a "cash and check means no fundraising for a year" event. They made almost $25,000 in two weeks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone get the feeling there is just one person on here just posting weird retorts in hopes of getting people to actually like the Boosterthon? Very strange for a "mom" to be that adamant about a fundraiser and just keep bashing concerned comments. I don't get it.

It sounds like the PTA needs to put an asterick at the bottom of the flyers noting the percentage that go to the school. At least that takes the heat off of them. Would that work. Does that make it better?

there is a PTA person at my school who loves the boosterathon. So there is one person in real life.

Why does this person love it? Just curious

she believes it raises more money than anything else.

Does she let the student body and families know that 50% of their money doesn't go to the PTA? If not,it is practically embezzlement.