Will the disparity between what rich and poor schools get in private dollars increase under the new choice-based student assignment plan being developed for Wake County?
As noted in Sunday's article by Thomas Goldsmith and David Raynor, Wake County schools receive more than $21 million each year in private revenue. Schools like Lacy Elementary raise around $100,000 a year from a non-profit foundation while Creech Road Elementary got $12,738 last year in various private donations.
"It is an equity issue that is hard to address because it's private money," said school board member Keith Sutton.
The difference in money means students at some schools can go on long-distance trips, receive more high-tech equipment and be taught by teachers paid with private dollars.
Wake supplements higher poverty schools with additional money such as Title I funding and Renaissance School support.
Click here for a spreadsheet from the school system listing individual donations to schools.
If the new assignment plan results in more students going to schools closer to where they live, the disparity in private dollars could increase.
School board Vice Chairman John Tedesco has repeatedly raised the alarm about some schools getting more benefit from donated funds than others.
"As a district, we should be beginning to explore how to empower all of our schools," Tedesco said. "We want to make all schools high-demand schools."
But school board member Kevin Hill thinks differences in contributions and resources will likely continue.
"Parents will by and large support the schools that their children go to, as they are able to do so," Hill said. "If someone tried to put all the money in a big pot, they would quit giving."
Wake Superintendent Tony Tata hopes to address inequities in part by creating an Office of Family and Public Engagement to handle requests made to the school system on how to donate time, equipment and services.
Also, as part of his reorganization of the central office, Tata moved the grants office under the new position of chief transformation officer to help recruit large donations.
"You've got to have a plan to reach out to the big financial donors in the world," Tata said.
Comments
well, for once I agree with
Mon, 07/25/2011 - 23:13 — luv2teachwell, for once I agree with Hill....enough of this issue. Parents should immediately STOP any donations to the school if all the money goes in one big pot. I'm so sick of all this "equality" etc. It will NEVER be equal!!! If my money that I donated to my child's school was put in a large pot for the county, I'd never donate another dollar. I would just give my money to the teacher(s). Simple as that.
Kevin Hill was a big
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 07:30 — CaryCurmudgeonKevin Hill was a big supporter of Chuck Dulaney, and Chuck's answer to unequal funding was to transfer students around, effectively "sharing" the pot of PTA money. Unless we want to revert to communism, there will never be equal everything for everyone.
I thought district policy
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 06:44 — DrActualFactualI thought district policy prohibits teachers from accepting gifts/money; if that policy has been dropped then you could avoid the PTA, booster clubs, and donate directly to the teacher. Not sure how the principal would feel about that.
Really?
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 08:33 — Bob_SconceI've given things directly to my kids' teachers that they could use in class. Most room-moms also do some sort of end-of-the-year gift.
Need more schools like that
Mon, 07/25/2011 - 18:47 — Bob_SconceI suspect that neither Lacy nor Broughton developed that loyalty by shipping students in and out.
Redistribution of money is a bad idea
Mon, 07/25/2011 - 15:43 — localyankRedistributing funds across the school district is a bad idea. For one thing, it will discourage donors like me who give to the school their kids attend to support a particularly outstanding teacher or program, or a program that my kid is involved in. This was one of the advantages of putting Magnet schools in the poorer neighborhoods - the Magnet parents generally have the resources (time and money) to dedicate to the school. From what I've read, Tedesco wants to segregate the schools, put more money into the schools with more failing kids, AND redistribute donations from other schools? Good luck with that. Suburban taxpayers won't put up with the last two.
"This was one of the
Mon, 07/25/2011 - 17:57 — woodstock"This was one of the advantages of putting Magnet schools in the poorer neighborhoods..."
How's that? In Magnet Schools the bused-in affluent students succeeded -- as they would anywhere -- and the low income students still failed to the same, or often even greater, degree. All the extra money did was give privileged, affluent students even more advantages.
However, I agree redistribution of money is a terrible idea in Wake County schools... and in general public policy for that matter.
Really about wealth?
Mon, 07/25/2011 - 15:16 — Bob_SconceThe spreadsheet doesn't seem to support the idea that wealthy schools get a lot more than poor schools. If the relationship were that straightforward, you'd expect the Davis Drive Middle and Elementary schools to do about the same, yet DDMS far exeeds DDES in contributions.
I think I put up the wrong
Mon, 07/25/2011 - 15:41 — KeungHui (author)I think I put up the wrong spreadsheet since it only lists $930,000. I'm checking to see what else we may have.
The spreadsheet does not
Mon, 07/25/2011 - 15:59 — KeungHui (author)The spreadsheet does not list PTA, booster club and foundation donations.
It looks to me that these
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 09:02 — shank56It looks to me that these are donations receipted in each school office as "gifts to the school/system" with personal donations eligible for tax deductions. Scrolling through I see donations for field trips and magazines. Also specific in-house fund raisers for LCD projectors and strings. PTA's are asked to fund a table at the TOY banquet and that is reflected in a Human Resources account.
No doubt these donations do not come near to reflecting those donations made straight in the classroom and not receipted in the office. ( I donated funds for 9 kids in my elementary classroom to attend the circus one year and that was not receipted as a field trip "gift." ) Parents spend countless dollars in supplies for the classroom for the teacher, their children and for those children's families who never contribute a penny .
Yup...
Tue, 07/26/2011 - 09:49 — Bob_SconceAt minimum, these appear to only be gifts that the Central Office knows about. But, how well does that correllate to the giving at the individual school?
The original article has a bunch of anecdotes about giving, but I don't think that the anecdotes justify the conclusion that individual schools with wealthy parents get more donations than schools with poor parents. That seems to be an article of faith, not of evidence.
uhm yeah it does for some of
Mon, 07/25/2011 - 16:11 — AngelaWuhm yeah it does for some of them...and of note PTA funds are prohibited for use of teacher salaries.
I should have said that the
Mon, 07/25/2011 - 17:19 — KeungHui (author)I should have said that the school district spreadsheet only lists a small amount of the PTA contributions. I'm trying to get a hold of a spreadsheet that the paper put together that totalled up more than just the $930K that Wake listed.