To the editor:
Re: “VSB schools raise $3.4m in one year,” Nov.6.
The Charter for Public Education states that everyone has the right to a free, quality public education. When our schools’ budgets rely heavily upon PAC fundraising and randomly being chosen for grants, we are moving further and further away from all children being able to access a free quality public education. One of the major concerns around our schools depending on fundraising for technology, playgrounds, field trips and other resources that support student learning is that it creates huge inequities across our school district. Schools in wealthy areas are much better able to fundraise than schools in less affluent neighborhoods.
Schools are also often competing with each other for grant money that will go towards books and playgrounds. Some schools receive tens of thousands of dollars from organizations such as Indigo or Aviva while those schools who are not randomly chosen receive nothing.
Another especially important issue around fundraising is the pressure it puts put on children. Children in our schools are often encouraged to compete with one another in fundraisers, and prizes and special recognition are often used as incentives for those who raise the most money. Some children are asked to sell chocolates, magazines, and entertainment books with prizes attached to the best seller.
These fundraising competitions can put unnecessary pressure on students and many children are excluded from participating if their families don’t have the financial means to contribute.
Some parents would like to contribute but because of their financial situation feel a sense of embarrassment and shame. Some children and families may find fundraising rewarding but for others it can be a stressful and exclusionary experience.
Children should be coming to school to learn, nurture friendships, and develop a sense of social responsibility. At school, social responsibility should not be connected to a child’s and/or family’s ability to raise money. We need to stop pressuring our children and their families to be fundraisers for our schools.
Suzanne Salter,
Vancouver
