Picture this. You’re a parent listening to your child tell you how their day at school went when you hear about the school’s latest project. A product fundraiser. Popcorn, candles, wrapping paper, the works. I remember vividly the little sheets I would bring home for my parents to sign off on how much cookie dough they wanted to purchase. The inherent joy and whimsy of buying some useless little keychain or toy that you probably won’t even remember next week, because “hey, the money’s going to a school, right?”
Most of a school’s funding comes from the state, then the district, with independent school fundraisers covering whatever money is needed after. School fundraisers are important because that money can go towards whatever the school wants, whereas state or district funding often has restrictions on what it can be used for.
But is it worth turning your kids into little salespeople for? It’s not like you’re selling their little souls to the capitalist gods, but you are appealing to good old-fashioned consumerism, exploiting the inherent endearingness of children, the desire to do good AND the greed for new shinies all in one. Companies profit off the fact that we as humans want new things, want more, and the added benefit of a portion of that money going towards the kids is even better.
Say you and your family go out one night to eat dinner at some restaurant where your kid’s school is being fundraised. You can enjoy your meal, knowing that a portion of your spending is going towards your kid’s education, right? But the fundraisers can’t make that much money in only a day or two, which is how long most of them are open for. Very few people are going to have the time to show up. According to a school fundraiser at Hidden Hills around last year, only around 15-20% of the proceeds actually go to the school. If you spend 50 dollars on dinner, that’s 10 dollars going to the school. 10 dollars. You could’ve spent the night at home, donated the 50 dollars and been happier with your good deeds.
It would be better to go back to old-school, DIY fundraisers, like a bake sale or carnival — something that doesn’t involve some huge corporation taking a cut of the profit. The issue with these types of fundraisers is that they require so much community involvement and participation, which, a lot of the time, is hard to come by. So few people are able to help out, especially if they’re a busy parent or don’t have any kids in the district. And turnout becomes a factor, too. Schools are just trying to solve a giant puzzle of how and where to obtain funding, leading to a massive issue because they end up having to host fundraisers basically all year to get by.
However, the blame isn’t entirely on schools themselves either. I mean, it is extremely difficult to obtain money that can be used towards enriching the education of students through STEM programs and field trips.
Instead, what we should be asking is why the schools aren’t getting enough money on their own. Why do they have to resort to a year-round fundraising cycle just to sustain themselves? Why are they reliant on parent-run organizations like EdFund or SRVEF? Why is that the norm?
As a community, we should be helping our schools in any way we can. Whether that’s making more donations at the beginning of the year that go directly to the school or volunteering to help out with events or field trips, we should be aiding our school systems directly instead of through some big corporation. Plus, it’s a way to reconnect with the community. Bonding over bake sales or ticket booths at a school fair, all with the added benefit of helping children. Education is so important, and having a free public education is vital to our society as a whole, so we all should be helping to ensure that our schools are strong and well-resourced so that the students who attend them can have successful educational careers.
