Seattle Council PTSA News (and there's a lot of it)
Want a job with the SCPTA interfacing with SPS staff? Here you go. (I would actually be swell at this job but they would never hire me.)
They need folks to represent most areas of the city.
Do you have an interest in issues that go beyond your local school and affect children throughout the district? If so, we need you! Transportation, capacity, family engagement and district policies are just a few areas that SCPTSA is currently working on. SCPTSA board members have a number of opportunities to serve on committees in the district, as well as meet with district officials and school board members. SCPTSA works with all local PTAs throughout Seattle, including outreach, education, training and troubleshooting.
We are looking for Area Directors for : NE, NW, SE, SW and Central Districts.
The board meets monthly at the John Stanford Center, or via conference call. Are you interested in helping, but are not sure what role is right for you? Contact us so we can learn about your interests! Please email Linnea Fichter at vicepresident@seattlecouncilptsa.org.
Fundraising news (I didn't see this at the SPS website nor have I seen a press release but this is what the SCPTSA is reporting):
Bouncy houses and dunk tanks are prohibited on school grounds. Contact Richard Staudt, SPS Risk Manager, for more information on this kind of usage.
Also, starting this fall, SPS will take "a 10% cut, up to $1,000, for the use of school grounds if the fundraising activity takes place during school hours (like Walk-a-thons). Please contact president@seattlecouncilptsa.org for further info."
Update: I did leave out the new SCPTSA President's comment (that's Katherine Schomer) - We're trying to think of it as a "use fee" for the space. I'll have to ask her if SCPTSA plans any pushback or will leave it to individual PTAS.
I'll put a call in for more info on both these fundraising issues. I can only say that the PTAs put back into the district far more than they take out. I think these fees are foolish and will make PTAs rethink some fundraising and/or what they put those dollars towards.
They need folks to represent most areas of the city.
Do you have an interest in issues that go beyond your local school and affect children throughout the district? If so, we need you! Transportation, capacity, family engagement and district policies are just a few areas that SCPTSA is currently working on. SCPTSA board members have a number of opportunities to serve on committees in the district, as well as meet with district officials and school board members. SCPTSA works with all local PTAs throughout Seattle, including outreach, education, training and troubleshooting.
We are looking for Area Directors for : NE, NW, SE, SW and Central Districts.
The board meets monthly at the John Stanford Center, or via conference call. Are you interested in helping, but are not sure what role is right for you? Contact us so we can learn about your interests! Please email Linnea Fichter at vicepresident@seattlecouncilptsa.org.
Fundraising news (I didn't see this at the SPS website nor have I seen a press release but this is what the SCPTSA is reporting):
Bouncy houses and dunk tanks are prohibited on school grounds. Contact Richard Staudt, SPS Risk Manager, for more information on this kind of usage.
Also, starting this fall, SPS will take "a 10% cut, up to $1,000, for the use of school grounds if the fundraising activity takes place during school hours (like Walk-a-thons). Please contact president@seattlecouncilptsa.org for further info."
Update: I did leave out the new SCPTSA President's comment (that's Katherine Schomer) - We're trying to think of it as a "use fee" for the space. I'll have to ask her if SCPTSA plans any pushback or will leave it to individual PTAS.
I'll put a call in for more info on both these fundraising issues. I can only say that the PTAs put back into the district far more than they take out. I think these fees are foolish and will make PTAs rethink some fundraising and/or what they put those dollars towards.
Comments
Annoyed
Questions this raises for me:
1) Will PTAs get a complete list of fundraisers that will fall under this policy?
2) 10% cut, up to $1000 per fundraiser or annually?
3) Who will be collecting these funds?
4) Will the funds go to the school or to the SPS general budget?
5) When will SPS release a policy paper on this so PTAs can review the guidelines?
I feel like this is just another SPS money grab ... similar to Pay 4 K. SPS is now trying to take a cut of money that PTAs raise for the schools ... unbelievable!
N by NW
Of course, what would really be equitable would be to have per student funding be the same for all schools and all students. If we are going to do this 10% tax on PTA funds, perhaps we should also make per student funding the same everywhere.
The funds are likely to go to the General Fund as do property rentals (you may recall that Cleveland had several non-school events that they did not charge for even though they should have).
I will get more info.
-Big Spender
No, the siphoned off 10% or $1,000 per event ISN'T going "to the kids", it's going to the ADULTS in the glass palace.
I understand the reasoning which has been discussed and debated on this blog about the merits of some form of PTA or Site Counsel "equalization" (kind of like a tip pool in a restaurant between wait staff and kitchen staff), whereby x% of a school's total fundraising would go into a general pool for some kind of redistribution because different schools raise different amounts on a per student basis. But, that IS NOT what this is. It is just a pure money grab. No thank you. It really is the principal of the thing, from this check writing parent's perspective. A major turn off. Personally, I would bypass it. And this from a parent who votes yes on levies as well as yes to the income tax. Taking these kinds of crumbs from kids's movathons is too obnoxious and not going to have any positive affect elsewhere.
Think about it, let's say there are 45 schools that have events, SPS get a maximum of $45,000 to spread around the other 50 schools. Really, is that worth the staff time to simply track the dollar flow and manage the oversite?
These people are nuts. Or pathetic. Ooops, hope that doesn't violate a blog rule, it's not name calling, it is commentary.
-think much?
As far as the new rules, many schools are connected to a city park. If the Move-a-thon is held during the day, on park property, does the surcharge apply? I'd be curious to see a list a schools that hold move-a-thons. Something about the fee just doesn't seem right.
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2011413993_ptafee23m.html
I suppose the idea is still alive...
Shocked Too
HS parent
What a waste of time. How about the district staff leave the meager donations to the PTAs alone and go work on the miserable 45% pass rate of 10th graders in math? Doesn't the district have better things to spend their time on?
This leaves more time for volunteering in classes.
Another parent
Right on Another Parent. Donations foster undue influence, and it's unavoidable. We complain about Bill Gates wanting influence - but we see that same mentality in his little-fish cousins in local schools.
Bellvue has already started this donation profit sharing. You can't just "fundraise" your cause, or even your collective cause in Bellvue. It's coming folks.
-Big Spender
Big Spender.
There are many, many school events that don't involve fundraising to build community spirits.
another parent
BS
summer
a parent
At Roosevelt, the PTA had zero fundraisers (because of the huge - and competing - amount of fundraising for booster groups). We did what was mentioned - No Bake Bake Sale. Just give us a check, no selling, no attending - money going directly to support the school.
2. PTAs set budgets in April. THAT is when we needed to be notified of this fee. Now more fundraising will need to happen or we'll have to cut funding for items we've budgeted for.
Argh. No advance notice. No attempt (that I'm aware of) to engage stakeholders (you know, the ones doing the fundraising). Just an edict from on high. With no explanation as to where it will go, how it will be spent...
-Frustrated PTSApres
Duh! Gloom and doom, holier than thou, sky is falling attitudes - they don't help anyone, even though you somehow think somebody should feel shame about the "tragic" state of public math ed. Get a grip. 79.5% isn't too terrible.
Students do better when tested on courses they took recently - so, better results on EOCs than HSPE. HSPE simply was something given to 10th graders, no matter when they took the math. Nor, what math it was. How well would you do on the EOC2 math Jon? Something to ponder.
BS.
I don't know how to make this more clear. You are going for the wrong target. You are not going to make things better at Bailey-Gatzert or any other school with low PTA funds by going after donations at other schools in some false attempt at equality. The only way you are going to make things better is by getting more funding for all our public schools. The problem isn't other parents in Seattle Public Schools. You have the wrong target.
BS - and how
Oh, and I guess I should be as rude and stupid as you in response, so I should say, big duh!!!! That's no special mystery. You can unknot your underwear.
Summer
From the Seattle Schools 2011-12 Budget: [rehashed from 1/29/12 post on PTA funding] The calculations are simply the school budget divided by the number of students.
School: Average school funding per student (% of school spending on Special Ed), listed in order of highest to lowest
High schools
Rainier Beach: $8,206 (14%)
Cleveland: $7,746 (19%)
Ingraham: $7,467 (26%)
West Seattle: $7,190 (22%)
Sealth: $7,024 (20%)
Nathan Hale: $6,597 (21%)
Franklin: $6,507 (12%)
Roosevelt: $5,799 (14%)
Garfield: $5,590 (10%)
School: Average school funding per student (% of school spending on Special Ed), random list
Elementaries
Whittier: $5,652 (12%)
Bryant: $5,524 (8%)
Dunlap: $7,883 (15%)
Hawthorne: $8,206 (19)
Lafayette: $5,502 (9%)
Laurelhurst: $5,283 (5%)
Rainier View: $10,794 (17%)
Roxhill: $8,464 (28%)
West Seattle: $8,315 (19%)
Schmitz Park: $5,313 (12%)
number cruncher
summer
I had a principal whose previous experience was in the South Seattle schools. My school routinely did fundraisers (usually books or supplies) for a sister school. The principal couldn't believe it and told our PTA that the school we were helping had way more money than we did. Apparently, there's a lack of transparency when it comes to outside funding for schools. I'm including federal money as well as community support, business support, grants and gifts. We really don't know how much money is out there. It is hard to argue when you don't have the facts.
This is NOT about sharing any funds, PTA or otherwise.
This is about how the funds are used and where they are stored. See my update.
summer
BS
Anonymous @ 8/1/13, 12:34 AM said...
A quick search indicates McDonald, Wedgwood, Schmitz Park, Catherine Blaine, and Viewlands have Move-a-thons as part of PTA fundraising. Others?
pick a name next time. you just need to click on the 3rd option down and write in anything. you don't need to be signed into google.
When I was in high school we had lots of bake sales (the students, not the PTA). They were very successful, we had enough money left over after our class's graduation to set up a college scholarship for the younger classes. We were the generation that got bused, so I guess the long bus rides made us hungry, almost everyone bought something from the bake sales. I remember baking 4 strawberry rhubarb pies for each sale, and all the baked goods sell out each time. Does this new rule mean the students would have to hand over 10% of the take to SPS each time for this kind of fundraising? Not so good, I don't think I would have stayed up till midnight baking every week, if we had to give 10% to the district each week. The ingredients were not cheap either, we payed for those ourselves, which meant we gave our schools time, effort, and our own money. Is SPS really proposing taking money from teenagers? Oy vey!
CCA
Reader