PTA/Booster Clubs

[gatormom]

I am not sure if this is a good idea, bad idea, or just impossible.

I have been thinking about what makes our two HS different beyond cosmetic and part of it is the fund-raising potential of WV as compared to NV. It seems to me that it might make sense to find a way to somehow close that gap.

I was wondering if placing a cap on fundraising would work. Anything raised above the cap would be placed in a central pool and divided between the 2/3 high schools. The cap could be set 10% or so higher than the previous year’s lowest amount raised. This can be used for PTA and/or Booster clubs.

I have been trying to think about pros and cons of this, but would like to hear what others have to say.

[bob]

I could see the following happening. Certain groups would not want to share money. They would take the money rasied off the books of the PTA and we would be back to square one.

[rew]

GM, If a gap exists, do you have any idea what it is?? I think that's where you have to start.

[gatormom]

I have no idea rew. I think what gave me the impression that there was a gap was NV's soccer field and just the home values from both attendance areas. I believe the Eola corridor was against Gombert going to WV for more reasons then BD has a lot of active parents.

I am not defending this idea at all, just tossing it out to see what thoughts there are on it.

[notconvinced]

I think it's a valid question gatormom. It could help to promote unity within the district. It is probably worth more investigation to see what kind of gap exists and then how would that change with a program such as you describe. It would be interesting to see how much would go into the 'pool' based on fundraising that is occuring today. Of course, that would depend on the figure used as the cap. The pool would benefit all three high schools equally which seems a good goal. Interesting question, thanks for raising it.

[sb]

We were just talking about this last week after a PTA meeting. The general consensus from everyone was that putting money in a pool was not a great idea. Out PTA in particular raises enough money to cover what is budgeted for programs per year. The comment that did come up was if there was a need for funds at another school for, say, a field trip we would be more than happy to donate funds towards it. They felt that fund raising would go down at our school if all the money went into a general pool. Now I am at an elementary school so that is different than the high schools. But I do recall a few years in a row that NV boosters held a carnival in the parking lot at the school that we attended because our kids, who were very young at the time, really wanted to go. I had no clue what a booster club was then! But by attending the carnival, we were supporting the soccer field I guess, right? I am assuming that is where that money went.
One more thing, sorry so long winded today, but maybe if at the end of a school year a PTA has leftover funds to carry over to the next school year, that could be put into a general pool? I mean what is the sense of carrying over $10,000+ year after year? Maybe have a set amount that, after an audit, could be put into the pool to be used on an as needed basis?

[bob]

What I am really interested is the avg home price for the 3 HS. You took the two of the highest price subdivision out of NV and into the new HS. I have a feeling that the means will be closer than we think and NV will still have a higher median.

[gatormom]

sb, I am not talking about the elementary schools at all. They are a completely different animal. I can't imagine any ES PTA in our district having extra money at the end of the year. There are just too many needs.

I know of another school district where the middle school music program raises money for all its schools. If such and such school needs a base drum, the money comes from one of the fundraisers. That way all the schools have their music needs handled equally.

[wvhsparent]

Think of it like salary cap on pro teams.....If you go over the cap you have to pay an equalizing tax for the other teams.
Or it could be based on # of students...NVHS will get more, but they will also have more students

[anteater]

I attended a game at the NV soccer field last week. It is basically an open field with a fence around it, so nothing particularly fancy. They also do not have bleachers, so people have to bring lawn chairs or stand. If I remember correctly, the WV soccer field does have seating. Maybe this is part of the long-term plan, tho.

[EagleDad]

wvhsparent said:

Think of it like salary cap on pro teams.....If you go over the cap you have to pay an equalizing tax for the other teams.
Or it could be based on # of students...NVHS will get more, but they will also have more students

Yeah, and that works so well (Think New York Yankees )

Fact is, whenever you try to regulate free markets, you encourage the wrong behaviors (possible reduced overall donations in this case), and people gaming the system.

I'd say the disctrict should stay out of PTA monies, but they have plenty of other operational funds that can choose to distribute appropriately.

[EagleDad]

anteater said:

I attended a game at the NV soccer field last week. It is basically an open field with a fence around it, so nothing particularly fancy. They also do not have bleachers, so people have to bring lawn chairs or stand. If I remember correctly, the WV soccer field does have seating. Maybe this is part of the long-term plan, tho.

Anteater, was this a NV field, or one on Frontier Park (park district land directly to the South)

[chicoryowl]

bob said:

What I am really interested is the avg home price for the 3 HS. You took the two of the highest price subdivision out of NV and into the new HS. I have a feeling that the means will be closer than we think and NV will still have a higher median.

Don't worry, I'm there to drag down the average price...or at least I thought I was. Some homes have gone up in my neighborhood at a lot more than I would have expected.

I see the point about trying to even the playing field (no pun intended). However, I agree that it would probably lower donations. I suspect that people wouldn't want to just give to the district (which is what a pooled system could amount to). I believe one of the benefits to a booster club is people see their donations used directly.

Perhaps local busines sponsorship is one avenue that could be used to direct more monies to schools that receive fewer booster dollars.

[anteater]

Anteater, was this a NV field, or one on Frontier Park (park district land directly to the South)

This was the NV field - just east of the freshman building. I've always heard that the Frontier Park fields aren't big enough for high school soccer. And also a reason why the soccer teams don't like the football fields, other than wear and tear on the turf.

[title1parent]

sb said:

I mean what is the sense of carrying over $10,000+ year after year?

Okay, wish we had that much left over after the school year was up !!

We had poor fundraising this year, and that was with changing vendors.

We really had to streamline our budget.