Bank of PTA: Parents scramble to fill school budget gaps

Posted by on April 09, 2012

Falling short

While the National Parent Teacher Association doesn’t track how much money its five million members raise, interviews with dozens of schools and state PTAs confirm that as states have slashed school funding, parent contributions to public schools have soared, writes Jillian Mincer for Reuters. It’s no longer unusual for families at affluent schools to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for copy machines, paper, finger paints, and other school supplies, along with gym, art, and music programs. PTA funds also are used for building maintenance, classroom aides, and essential staff like school nurses, but critics fear that these voluntary funds inadvertently release states from their responsibilities and widen the gap between rich schools and poor. “It’s one thing to raise $300 for a teacher to buy school supplies, but it’s another thing to say $1 million,” says Arnold Fege, director of public engagement and advocacy at the Public Education Network. “This really moves us in the wrong direction. When we should be looking at adequacy, we’re assuring a system where there are winners and losers.”

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/23/us-economy-pta-idUSBRE82L16V20120323