Now this topic has always bugged me a bit, but lately it is getting out of control. My daughter attends a Catholic Elementary school, to which a portion of our property taxes go. I realize it costs a fortune to run a school and I certainly help out, when I can. But this year I have seen the extra costs go through the roof! Some of them are voluntary, like participating in the Lunch Moms program and others are more like, “you’d better pay up or else”. Either way the extra charges, if you will, are driving me insane, not to mention making me broke 🙁 Why, in just the past month I have shelled out over one hundred dollars to fund various things at the school. At this point we are lucky because we only have the one child in school, but what about those families with two or more? You need a second job to pay for it all.
The extra costs, as mentioned, are voluntary, however, there are a few that you really can’t say no to. The ones I should say no to are the pizza lunch Tuesdays and the Lunch Moms on Thursday. Pizza is two bucks per slice and it is every Tuesday, all year long. The problem is you have to pay in advance for two to three months, so there is no pay as you go. In the beginning we allowed Emily to get two slices, cause one is not enough for a meal, even if it is lunch. Thankfully she was okay with cutting back to one slice once we got a taste, pardon the pun, of just how much dough, ohhh there I go again 🙂 these extras would cost. So Tuesdays are two dollars.
Thursdays is Lunch Moms and I actually like this idea. The child gets a hot or cold combo of freshly prepared foods and we choose from a menu, but again, it is for two months at a time. These combos provide the child with a healthy lunch, drink and snack like a BLT on Whole Wheat Bun with veggies and dip and a milk. Not bad, but it is almost six dollars for the small. My daughter participates in Lunch Moms because it is convenient, healthy and a break from making a lunch each night. Sounds silly, but I really do not like making lunches at night 🙁
Add to these meals the various snacks the school sells each day and it adds up. Emily knows not to ask for these snacks because I refuse to give in to these for two reasons; they are unhealthy and a money grab. The snacks are anything from a big cookie to popcorn or ice cream. Not exactly snacks that are conducive to a productive and alert student, not too mention the cost!
What got me all riled up originally was that this past month I have shelled out little bits here and there for things from the meals to a visit to a Waste Management Plant to a donation on Earth Day to funds for a show in the school. This week my daughter informed me of another trip next month and they want almost $25 for it! Mother of pearl, I need my own fundraiser 🙂 But the final straw came yesterday after school. Emily informed me that she needed some supplies for today (great prep time, thank you teacher) for building a structure. The supplies, which she had a list of, included glue, markers, string, card board, an empty carton, fabric, tape, pipe cleaners, elastics and on and on. Fortunately I had some of this at home, but I had to pay for it at some point. My daughter told me she used up pretty much everything she brought in so there will be nothing coming home. Guess I should hit up the dollar store…
Bottom line is I don’t begrudge fundraising for the school. Heck we have sold our share of jumbo chocolate bars every fall, contributed to the Terry Fox run every September and Share Life in the Spring and bought books we don’t need at the book fair every year. Enough already! I don’t see how I am going to afford the rest of elementary school let alone university, for my kids 🙁
FT&PD
Suz
I totally get it. While I’m delighted my children attend a great, free public school, there are a lot of fundraisers for charity. Kids were asked to find sponsors so they could be paid to read. Another option was to write a check for $50/child. Or, not participate. I am all for allowances based on chores, stickers & rewards. I don’t want to pay my kids to read (and reading is part of their HW) or have them ask family members on fixed incomes in less affluent schools to pay them to essentially, do their homework. Luckily, it was designed well so you can do the reading and get the reward (a certificate) without the financial part. It is just odd, to me. October is the worst.
I also make my kids pay with cash (no checks or “pay online”) for school items so they have a sense that those treats and class pictures are not free.
Great idea to make them pay with cash. I actually have a “piggy bank” that was full of coins that my daughter and I collected for awhile. While it was not specifically allowance, it was money she and I saved. I think the initial idea for it was for Disney actually 🙂 But I said to her this past fall that if there was something she wanted to contribute to or participate in we would take it from the jar. The first few times she had to count out three, four or five dollars in nickles and dimes she was ticked ( so was the teacher), but it worked for awhile. She became a bit more selective. Like no more book orders and no requests for a school shirt. I love reading and watching and listening to my daughter read, but buying books so the school can get more books is just crazy. We will go to the library 🙂
Suz
Don’t get me going on this one! 4 kids in private schools AND all the extras… my property taxes don’t cover any of our tuition… its insane!
Wow, four in private Heidi? That would be crazy expensive 🙁 For us the property taxes can be designated to go to either Catholic or Public school, but private is completely your own expense. Way too much money for us, but if you can afford it, I know it is worth it. One of my best friends use to teach in a private school here in Ontario and they did several large fundraiser every year, like dances, auctions etc.. They would raise thousands this way. But there are always those little extras and they add up fast 🙁
suz
When my kids were in school i hated when they were sent home with Bars or anything to sell ,i am not sending my kids to school to learn to be a Salesperson.