Kids Schools...fundraising or forking over money!

[Camperroo]

My child's school has eliminated "fundraising" saying that they don't want to have the kids selling things like chocolate that isn't good for your teeth...ohhh pleasssssseee :eyecrazy: or selling wrapping paper, etc.  Instead they have implemented a school "activity fee" in which each family is required, yes required, to pay $75.00 per family.  I absolutely balked at this saying that I would rather buy the 75 bucks worth of candy or wrapping paper than just open up my checkbook and fork over the cash to the school and teach my kids that fundraising equals just holding out their hand to mom and dad thanks to the school.  This is also for a school that does not have sports teams or looking to provide sports uniforms, this is more for "social activities" however we still wind up having to buy "tickets" for the spaghetti dinner or the kids pay 1.00 for pizza on Fridays, etc., even though this is one of the PTO sponsored activities we've originally forked over the cash for.  Also there's no balance, I only have one kid in the school and have to pay 75.00 but yet people with 3 or 4 kids in the school only have to pay the 75.00 fee.   Well heck their kids take up 3 times the amount of food or activities offered at the school, so why am I spending 75.00 for my one kid.  I know, I know the scenario could go on forever.  The folks with more than one kid of course balk that why should they pay 3 times the amount and be penalized because they have more kids in the school than one after all they are paying more tuition than us one kids folks.  See it will never work out to a compromise and the kids idea of fundraising is to bring home a yellow slip of paper requiring mom/dads to submit their 75.00 fee by a specific date or they must contact the principal.

So much for parents and kids actually having to spend some time together and do a bake sale, car wash or pass the candy/wrapping paper order form around to family members and friends.  Just open up that checkbook and write out the check together and drop it off at the school by the "required" date!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MommaMia]

Our school still does the fundraisers but also offers the "opt out" option.  The suggested amount is $30.  With 2 kids in school and 2-3 fundraisers each year, I cannot afford to even "opt out".  

After going back and adding up all the $ I spent last year... from school supplies (a list of about 20 items for each child costing around $50 each) to fund raisers, to dances and festival events, to teacher gifts and donations, class basket raffle item donations and ticket purchases, and school pictures taken 2 times.  (This one really irks me.  The fall pictures include the class picture, the spring ones are for the yearbook so basically they get you to find a reason to order both sets!)
I spent nearly $500 last year!!!  Holy cows, was I surprised when I added it all up.

This year we are doing our own "opt out"... we are opting to not give anything at fundraiser time.  We purchase one small item for each child from another student in the class.  That's not to say that the school (PTO) doesn't get any monies from us.  They get portions of the money collected from the dances, the raffle tickets we buy and the school pictures.  PLus, we have signed up with the local stores .  Each time we shop at one of the participating stores, we earn money for the school.

[OC Campers]

Wow, $75 iseems like a lot of money.  My dd is in middle school and we had to fork out $25 for electives and I thought that was a lot.  Then I had to fork over $45 for field trips for the ds. There is always someone willing to drain my checkbook.

Jacqui

[Kelly]

Wow, $75 iseems like a lot of money.  My dd is in middle school and we had to fork out $25 for electives and I thought that was a lot.  Then I had to fork over $45 for field trips for the ds. There is always someone willing to drain my checkbook.

Jacqui

$75.??!!  I wish.  $100 for my 5th-grader this year for their activity fee AND fund-raisers on top of that!!  

The second-grader's activity fee was only $28 AND fund-raisers.  I might have to move before the last two start school!

[angelsmom10]

I remember those day's....(glad they're over).
 
School's should let parents decided what is good for their child... if the children don't get candy from candy sales, they'll just spend their $$ at stores for the candy and someone else profits.
 
Grade school had a fee to join the "athletic club" which you had to belong to in order to be in a sport, then each sport did fundraising, but no expectations of how much you had to sell.
 
Then high school came along... there was an "athletic fee" of $75.00 per child , along with a mandatory candy sale of 100 candy bars @ $2.00 each that each child must sell or it's equivelent to be paid.  It was so hard to sell the candy bars for that price as the grade schools sold basically the same size for $1.00 at the same time.  Most families just paid the $200, and not even take the candy, we of course took the candy as it was at least something for our $$, we in turn would sell the bars for $1.00 and recoup part of our loss.  Luckily we only had that problem for 1 year.  Then band camp (forget those fees and fund raisers).
 
Some of the school districts around us in the suburbs who levys fail last year are starting fees for each sport a child is in... if I remember correctly, one school charges $300 per sport per child.
 
Good luck, I know how hard it is, and when you sell someone something, you then feel obligated to buy from them when they have something to sell.

[NightOwl]

$75?  :yikes:

These are very tough economic times with a lot of people out of jobs--what happens when a family just cant shell out $75?  Especially just after having to spend $ for schoool supplies, etc.  $75 buys a lot of groceries.  Whatever became of free public education?

[campincrew]

I'd rather pay for the activities in cash.  Our 3 kids each have fundraisers for the school, in addition, we have football, marching band (x3 before Christmas) and then there is the car wash.  Our neighborhood is full of kids in the same school and activities, so who do you sell to in the neighborhood?  They fixed that, telling the kids that they can not sell door to door.  Now who do you sell to?  Grandparents, Ok They'll buy and say keep the stuff, friends, family-but how many times can you do that?  Work?  That gets old.  I'd rather pay the cash! :yikes:

[campingboaters]

I'm with campingcrew, but I also doubt the fee our school would charge would be $75 per kid.  That seems steep.  I doubt VERY much the PTO would average that much money per child from fundraisers, but I could be wrong.  
 
 There are only 30 people in my company and most are just getting by in this economy.  I dare not ask them to buy anything and I have very little family to ask them to buy something over and over.  We have "stupid" fundraisers (wrapping paper and "gifts", EXPENSIVE chocolates that aren't very good, coupon books, pizza kits and "gourmet" pretzels).  The pizza kits and pretzels sounded like a good idea until I found out the food was dropped off around noon at the school and sitting un-refrigerated until 6pm when I was able to pick them up... NEVER again.  There HAS to be better fund raisers out there than the ones our school chose!  Untill then, I'll just fork over some cash!

[Camperroo]

Our school has less than 130 kids in it and the $75 activity is more than what we pay in our daughter's high school for lab fees, etc!!  When we asked the PTO to break down where this $75 fee went to a list came home saying that the PTO sponsors or subsidizes the following:  Cultural Arts Events (they may bring in someone who plays violin, piano, dances, etc., ok that may cost a little bit, but usually it's a family member), Pennies from Heaven (we collect the pennies...what are they subsidizing for that??), Flag Day Ceremonies (huh?? the flag is always flying on the pole - the kids just gather around it and place some flowers and sing) Pizza Friday (kids pay a $1 a slice) Ice Cream Program ($1 "donation), School Directory (they already charge us a $15 paper fee), Ski Club (parents pay for the individual lessons and transport the kids..no school bus) Boxtops for Education (umm again...the parents cut those stupid little boxtops off cereal boxes, etc. and turn them in), Field Day (ok that one I can understand, they provide a "carnival day" with burgers and hotdogs and games and rides) Used Uniform Sales (they keep the money from the uniforms turned in), Christmas Shopping Days (each family donates $10 or buys ten one dollar items - then the kids get to "shop" for gifts for family members, except 1. we've already bought $10 dollars worth and now we are going to fork over probably $25 for all the little presents they buy - however you feel guilted by how excited the kids are when they come home with their treasures all wrapped up and ready to put under the tree) Spaghetti Dinner (we pay individually for a ticket to get in), Teacher Appreciation Snacks (a parent signs up and provides the snacks - PTO is paying for or subsidizing that) Family Social Events (again usually we have to pay for a ticket for admission)

Anyway at $75 a kid for things we mostly pay for anyway, on top of a book bill ($157 this year - gr. 6) , milk bill ($60 for the year) and then they also charge each family $50 to pay the moms who "volunteer" to do lunch duty.  Volunteer and getting paid at the same time...hmmmm.   I can well remember my mom volunteering lunch duty and never asked to be paid for it plus a teacher or two would switch lunch hours to supervise...now the moms get $5.00 for each lunch duty and the teachers don't come out till the bell rings!  Anyway the school is charging us up the whazooo.  But at the same time it's a good school, kids are well behaved, rules strictly enforced and teachers are available and responsive to parent requests for any kind of communication..but they are killing us in fees.  Honestly last year I refused to pay the $50 lunch duty fee, I figured if they are volunteering, then they are volunteering, why would any mom want to take $5 a pop for it.  I did lunch duty for five years and told them to keep their little fee.  We are there for a whopping hour supervising the lunch room and outside recess.  If we aren't working and can be around with our kids to do that why should families have to pay for it??  I also was a hold out on the $75 activity fee.  It took a few warning letters before I coughed up the cash last year.

I still can't justify the $75 activity fee this year, but I figure DS only has 2 more years left there and I paid up this time without my usual stinging letter of protest.  Just two more years, two more years, two more years...I must keep repeating that to myself.

[Gone-Camping]

I simply wouldn't pay it, see what happens next. Tell them they can contact the city tax office and take the $75 out of what you've already paid!!! I'd let them take me to court, but I wouldn't pay it!

[Acts 2:38 girl]

THAT is crazy!  How dare they tell you what to pay?!!  What if you were Homeschooling your kids?  Are they nuts?  

We just got the fundraising things today from one child, and I'll expect the next two to bring something home anyday now!

[campincrew]

So mydaughter comes to me the other day and informs me that her marching band will be selling pies in a couple of weeks!  She just finished delivering her pizza kits yesterday.  This is really out of hand.  We pay over $300 just for the privilidge of her playing in marching band, then an additional $200 so she could be in the color guard.  She has sold pizza, now pies, then she will will sell fruit or something like that in the spring-where does all that money go? :confused:

[campincrew]

So mydaughter comes to me the other day and informs me that her marching band will be selling pies in a couple of weeks!  She just finished delivering her pizza kits yesterday.  This is really out of hand.  We pay over $300 just for the privilidge of her playing in marching band, then an additional $200 so she could be in the color guard.  She has sold pizza, now pies, then she will will sell fruit or something like that in the spring-where does all that money go? :confused:

So to add insult to an already thin checkbook, my oldest daughter presents yet ANOTHER fund raiser to us last night-this one from her PE class.  Apparently the coaches are raising money for Special Olympics, but get this....some part of the donations will go to the school.  Do we not pay enough in taxes to buy basketballs, or shuttlecocks?

[4campinfoxes]

My niece's school tried to put all the fundraisers on the calendar to make sure everyone wasn't getting "hit up" at the same time.  They included the GS cookie sale & BS popcorn sale.  Thought it was a good idea.  It is hard when you not only have the standard school fundraiser but then have gym teachers trying to raise money for causes!  I'm torn on the fundraiser thing.  DH thinks it's better to just give $$.  But I think it's good for kids to see that they ahve to work for $, it isn't just handed to you.

Sharon