While many things in my house are high comedy, there is no joke about the school budget cuts. They are real, they are tangible and they have arrived at our school. I wanted to take a few minutes to explain the reality of the budget cuts and what they mean to our kids and what Whitney's PTO is doing about it.
Last week our PTO President sent an email passing along an emergency request from the school's head custodian requesting toilet paper and cleaning supplies to get the school through the rest of the year. The school's janitorial fund has dried up, there are no other funds left for such luxuries as toilet paper or clean bathrooms and a clean cafeteria. As any reasonable group of people would, we sent a check immediately for $393.21.
It is the end of the year, as you know, and supplies are running low but because of the budget cuts it appears our kids are expected to do without. We do not agree. The office ran out of paper so the PTO bought 150 reams of paper for $382.50. This paper will be used for many things from letters written to parents, to assignments copied for your kids to your kids' report cards.
As many of you with kids in the upper grades know, ISAT testing just finished up. ISAT testing is required testing and there are many requirements for a proper test taking environment. One such requirement is a proctor to ensure all of the other requirements are followed. One would think the cost of this proctor would be borne by the state but alas, it is a cost that the school must bear. Total cost for two weeks of testing came to $800. Because of the budget cuts the school did not have enough money to cover the cost of the proctor. The PTO wrote a check for the entire $800.
Thus far, the PTO has written a total of $1575.71 to the school for supplies and personnel that should have been covered by the regular budget. This is how the budget cuts actually impacts your kids. Had the PTO not been able to raise that money we would be asking your kids to bring in toilet paper and a bottle of cleaner. Seriously. This is the reality of the budget cuts.
So, where does the PTO get all of this money? The PTO spends a great deal of time fundraising. During the school year we have engaged you and your students in two fundraisers. The first, in the fall, was the wrapping paper/gift catalog fundraiser and the second, in the spring, was the cookie dough event (raised $3400). Throughout the rest of the year, regardless of when school is in session we continually raise money through the following ways:
- Box Tops for Education http://www.boxtops4education.com/ ($1621 this year a $1200 increase over last year! Keep clipping those box tops and checking the box top site for promotions, it MAKES A DIFFERENCE)
- TerraCycle http://www.terracycle.net/ (Yep, one piece of trash at a time. So far $30 this year.)
- Target Red Card https://sites.target.com/site/en/corporate/page.jsp?contentId=PRD03-005174&ref=sr_shorturl_tcoe ($45.56)
- Papa Johns Pizza last Wednesday of the month (ex. Feb. earned us $43.25)
- A bake sale put on by two ambitious students and so many generous donations and buyers! ($286.29!!)
As it happens, our reality is showing.
-Nikki Rutledge
Whitney Parent
