Friday Open Thread
It's a map, map, map world.
You saw the map I put up yesterday about the most highly paid public employee in each state (mostly sports coaches of some sort). More interesting maps have crossed my path and some you might share with your children.
ArtsEd Washington, a group that supports arts education in public schools, has a map showing all the school districts in the state. It does give you pause in terms of how many tiny districts there are and the state spending that entails. They are also sending a survey on arts education to every school board candidate in the state.
From Twister Sifter (funny), "40 maps that will help you make sense of the world." Your kids might like some of these.
Also of interest to kids, the first school in Seattle opened on August 15, 1870. From HistoryLink:
On August 15, 1870, Seattle’s first public schoolhouse opens. (Seattle's first school, opened in 1854, was a tuition-based or private school. The first public schooling commenced in 1862 when elementary and high school students were sent for instruction to the new Territorial University in downtown Seattle.)
Seattle Public School District No 1 purchased four lots in the "northern portion of town" (on the east side of 3rd Avenue between Madison and Spring streets) for a public school. On the lots, which cost $2,000, contractors Russell & Shorey built a 30 x 48 foot two-story, two-room school house.
(In "the more things stay the same", the school district ran over its building budget, didn't pay the contractor, got sued and almost lost the building.)
FYI, for fundraising, in case you didn't know Target has a "red" Target card (it's only for use at Target so it is not a true credit card and you get 5% off everything every time you use it). They will donate 1% of your purchase price to a designated school of your choice. (If you look at the checkout counter, there is always a sign up with local totals - I frequently see Hale, Eckstein and Sacajawea on the sign.) It's a pretty easy way to give to your school if you shop at Target.
(Yes, I know Target is somewhat anti-union and I can understand some not wanting to shop there. But I also understand some do shop there and if you can extract money from them for your school, I'm for that.)
What's on your mind?
You saw the map I put up yesterday about the most highly paid public employee in each state (mostly sports coaches of some sort). More interesting maps have crossed my path and some you might share with your children.
ArtsEd Washington, a group that supports arts education in public schools, has a map showing all the school districts in the state. It does give you pause in terms of how many tiny districts there are and the state spending that entails. They are also sending a survey on arts education to every school board candidate in the state.
From Twister Sifter (funny), "40 maps that will help you make sense of the world." Your kids might like some of these.
Also of interest to kids, the first school in Seattle opened on August 15, 1870. From HistoryLink:
On August 15, 1870, Seattle’s first public schoolhouse opens. (Seattle's first school, opened in 1854, was a tuition-based or private school. The first public schooling commenced in 1862 when elementary and high school students were sent for instruction to the new Territorial University in downtown Seattle.)
Seattle Public School District No 1 purchased four lots in the "northern portion of town" (on the east side of 3rd Avenue between Madison and Spring streets) for a public school. On the lots, which cost $2,000, contractors Russell & Shorey built a 30 x 48 foot two-story, two-room school house.
(In "the more things stay the same", the school district ran over its building budget, didn't pay the contractor, got sued and almost lost the building.)
FYI, for fundraising, in case you didn't know Target has a "red" Target card (it's only for use at Target so it is not a true credit card and you get 5% off everything every time you use it). They will donate 1% of your purchase price to a designated school of your choice. (If you look at the checkout counter, there is always a sign up with local totals - I frequently see Hale, Eckstein and Sacajawea on the sign.) It's a pretty easy way to give to your school if you shop at Target.
(Yes, I know Target is somewhat anti-union and I can understand some not wanting to shop there. But I also understand some do shop there and if you can extract money from them for your school, I'm for that.)
What's on your mind?
Comments
-North End Mom
--Confused and Dissatisfied
--Confused and Dissatisfied
I think, though, it's easy money and worth it.
Friends and relatives who have Target VISAs can designate your child's school for their edu-dollars. Now that my daughter is going off to college, I am going to change the school back to her old SPS elementary as they can use the funds the most.
Solvay Girl
My first concern is promoting a credit card with a 22.9% interest rate. For those consumers who pay off their bills every month, this should be no problem. Credit cards are exempt from usury laws, but consumers who want to use a credit card at Target have other options which are closer to 15%. But the fact of the matter is that most consumers do not pay off their credit card bills each month. There are some businesses whose credit card divisions make more money than their actual retail divisions do.
Secondly, when I was the development director of a small private school (10 years ago) we received less than $200 per year from this program, despite fairly relentless promotion. So Target probably got more than its money's worth in promotion from us.
Thirdly, in the scheme of things, it's really not that much money. At our school, tuition accounted for most of the earned income, but fundraising through the annual fund, auction, and PTO brought in about $200,000 in unearned income.
Next, as a previous poster pointed out, applications for funds and checks are cut directly to the principal, not the PTA. This means that the principal needs to take time out of the day to fax the neccessary documents to Target and have infrastructure available to handle funds. Normally, in public schools, this type of fundraising is the purview of the PTA. It may simply not be worth the principal's time, especially if very little funds result.
Lastly, having too many small fundraising efforts can dilute serious fundraising efforts. If you have a fundraising goal of $200,000 and you have families who feel that they made their contribution to that effort by using their Target Red Card, you will not reach your goal. If a family uses a Target Red Card to charge $1,000 worth of goods, the school receives $10, and the family feels like it has done its part.
So what's my takeaway? If a family uses Target and religiously pays off their bill each month, then, by all means take advantage if it. If I was fundraising at a low-income public school, would I promote it as a fundraising method? Absolutely not!