Irresponsible Fundraising by Public Education

My daughter attends a high-performing Title 1 elementary school--basically a school with a high level of low-income families. As for my little family, we fair well but we have no relation to Richie Rich and need to plan our budget. Each year I become disgruntled because of what I consider to be irresponsible and excessive fundraising. This year is no exception and a flier attached to my daughter's fundraising packet informing me that we need "to do our part" tipped me enough to talk about it. Here are the problems that I have with school fundraisers:

1) The fundraising projects continue school-year round. From walk-a-thons, to gift-wrapping, to candy sales, it's at least 3 to 4 times a year. Some of these fundraisers involve school assemblies to give the children a motivational rally to sell, Sell, SELL! When the school year is already so limited, spending time motivating children to sell things to earn "cool prizes" is irresponsible. Children should spend as much time in the classroom as possible.

Things I DO NOT want my daughter to have.

2) We are already a Nation of Stuff in a time when I firmly believe we need to start downsizing. These fundraisers are selling overpriced goods that nobody really wants. The companies behind the fundraisers pocket large profits and only give a small portion to the schools. They are bribing our children with prizes that are basically junk and cause clutter. (Part of me wonders how materialistic the schools are seeing as parents have to provide the bulk of supplies to begin with. Do they need all the stuff they claim to need? I am not in the school often enough to know, but I am interested in hearing what those in "the know" think.)

$16 for a bowl of pretzels? It can be purchased for $2 at the Quikie Market!

3) They involuntarily draft the parent to become an active participant. Even if my child does the leg work and solicits the goods, collects the money and then delivers them, I am ultimately responsible for her work. I will be the one to carpool her across town, to take the deliveries to my place of employment, to double-check the money she collects. These are not necessarily hard things, but if you are in a Title One school often both parents are working, there are single-parent families with the parent working, the hours worked by parents are often the "odd shifts," transportation may be limited, some parents are not fluent in the English language. Having said all that, I think it is unfair of the flier to read "We ask that every student do their fair share and sell." 

4) It is uncomfortable to circle through your family and friends multiple times in a school year to ask them to open their wallets yet again. It's an imposition at the least. Often these people want to be supportive but again, being in a Title One school, selling things that aren't necessary, and doing this multiple times a year is excessive and inconsiderate.

Please note that this is not a blog about why schools need to resort to fundraising because of government cuts or misappropriation of tax funds or under-funding schools while funding national defense; that is its own topic that is too overwhelming for me to adequately address on this forum. (But if someone else wants to take a stab at it, we welcome guest bloggers!)

Recognizing it is unrealistic to do away with fundraising in schools all together (a noble goal), more effort should be directed to responsible fundraising. Here are some suggestions to make this happen:

1) Before the school year begins, have the various groups (PTA, after school programs, etc) meet to discuss a single fundraising project if it involves selling something and bribing children. Determine the goals of the fundraising projects--new supplies, new computers, the after school activities--and divide the funds appropriately.

2) The above mentioned project should be an event to sell something responsible such as first aid kits, emergency preparedness kits, other needed home items. They are out there and can make a huge impact. To encourage children to sell, work with local businesses to obtain gift certificates for a free ice cream cone or a movie ticket--things that can be enjoyed but do not cause clutter and waste!

3) There should be year-long standing fundraisers that do not cause such imposition to the family. I give the school credit on this one as they are very active with collecting BoxTops throughout the year. They also are involved in Scrip Fundraising, a program where local or online businesses provide gift cards ordered by the school and the businesses donate a portion of the gift card profits to the school while the purchaser of the gift card gets everything they paid for. I feel this is a win-win for everyone as the school gets the profit, the consumer can purchase gift cards for things that they already need (oil changes, groceries, clothing, etc.) and the businesses receive business and have a potential tax write-off. I would like to see these types of programs more heavily promoted by sending home fliers and emails to parents to increase awareness.

Does anyone else experience these same thoughts? Have you had any fundraisers that made you think twice? How do you think we should approach this topic? Any solutions I did not consider?