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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask the PTA mums

156 replies

user1495362060 · 15/05/2018 20:15

Do you really believe that PTA organized events are an effective way to raise funds for school needs?

(I have absolutely nothing against those events - i think they are great for socializing for those who want it! Perhaps it would be better if there was less sugar and plastic and more male participation. I just can’t wrap my mind around the fact that you try to coax money out of parents by offering them cookies and lottery tickets Hmm)

OP posts:
Copperbonnet · 16/05/2018 14:43

If I donate why is that wrong. Why do I have to volunteer or assist?

Siwel+ there is nothing wrong with giving money and not volunteering (that’s what most people do) as long as you aren’t also criticising the efforts of those who do* volunteer.

Copperbonnet · 16/05/2018 14:43

The bolding went really awry in that last post! Grin

siwel123 · 16/05/2018 14:45

Which I don't so all good Grin.

RedForFilth · 16/05/2018 14:58

Namechange128 this is what I'm worried about when my son starts school! I'm a single parent and I work full time so would be difficult for me to spare time. Not bothered if people slag me off but I don't want my son left out or treated differently.

MrsHathaway · 16/05/2018 16:39

Red - a good PTA has opportunities for all kinds of families, as there are lots of people who don't have convenient childfree time. For example, sending out tickets for a disco. Certainly they don't hound those who can't get involved.

RainbowFairiesHaveNoPlot · 16/05/2018 16:48

We make around 1k profit on each event we run and they're popular events that usually sell out.

We don't do bake sales though - the coffee mornings we do run are ones alongside things like the Macmillan ones for those designated charitable causes and not school funds.

Forest school area, library furniture, classroom toys, cookery kitchen area, all the puddle suits for the school, cameras, ipads... all pta funded in the last few years so definitely worth it.

Still trying to dodge having to go for an elected position though! No confidence to do it but we lose so many parents off the committee in July

Copperbonnet · 16/05/2018 17:09

When I was working full time I was able to find things to volunteer for eg helping with the disco my kids were attending. Helping set up or tidy up for the school fete.

There are lots of people who don’t help though for a variety of reasons - no one ever slags them off (as long as they aren’t criticising the people who do help)

gamerwidow · 16/05/2018 18:37

Red I'm PTA chair at our school there is no slagging off of parents who don't help. What does get an eye roll is the parents who don't help but them moan about everything we do.

RedForFilth · 16/05/2018 18:39

Thanks. It is a worry as I've had friends had negative experiences. Will hopefully be ok though!

Neolara · 16/05/2018 18:42

As a parent (and Chair of governors) can I just say A MASSIVE THANK YOU to all the pta volunteers who give so much time an effort into raising funds to help make life better for kids in school. And yes, I did mean to shout.

grasspigeons · 16/05/2018 18:47

The school summer fete raised 6500 on Saturday. School of 280 pupils. It's their biggest fundraiser. I work at the school, they have created a whole woodland area and paid for forest school staff training out of last year's funds, they pay for a recorder teacher weekly and refurbished all the reading corners. this year they are developing the outdoor areas further. None of these nice to have would not have happened.

BertrandRussell · 16/05/2018 18:53

To all the people saying they would rather make a one off payment, lots of PTAs, including 3 that I have been involved with, have tried this and raised practically nothing. Even from many of the people who specifically asked for it!

I am amazed and jealous of the 5 grand in a week!

About cake stalls- we used to run one once a fortnight. We had a cupboard with ingredients bought from Costco so if anyone felt like baking they could just take what they needed and bring it back as cake. We made about 100 quid a fortnight for very little effort and because it was a regular event and always on a Friday, people could place orders. Fortunately, it wasn’t a very quinoa and hummus school, so we didn’t have many complaints about the sugar!

Dozer · 17/05/2018 07:48

I agree Bertrand, people may well not stump up.

I personally attend/pay up for dislike PTA bake sales and other events as IMO they encroach into family time - under pressure due to parents’ WoH, commuting, homework etc - and money. Also very much “wifework” in the schools where I live (London commuterbelt), almost no men involved in the work.

Even the local private schools, which presumably can set fees for the market, have active PTAs, which friends involved report is to pay for “extras” such as equipment or trips, fun things for families and couples to do (eg “balls”!) and help encourage a sense of school community.

FleurDelacoeur · 17/05/2018 07:58

I've recently stepped back from our PTA but we were very focused on profit and the effort vs money raised balance.

Every meeting was about looking at costs, setting prices, and having post mortems after events to discuss whether it was worth doing again. Events which don't make much money, or which take a disproportionate amount of time to organise get ditched. For big events like a school fete. the Treasurer keeps a spreadsheet of every stall and analyses what makes the most money, then this is tracked over the years.

We do one "mixer" type quiz event at the start of the school year which isn't about profit but more a "get to know you" event for new parents where the aim is to break even but everything else runs at a substantial profit.

All people on the PTA (mix of mums and dads) are working in profit orientated organisations, the Treasurer is a chartered accountant, the Chair runs her own business. So we know what we're doing.

AngelsWithSilverWings · 17/05/2018 08:04

A few years ago our school consulted with the parents on how they would feel about paying a monthly donation to the school. ( think it was £10 a month ) We are in a very wealthy area and yet the answer was a resounding no!

The school requests a donation of £35 per year to cover the cost of running the school pool. They are forever pleading for people to pay it and I've known very well off people saying that they don't pay it because they know it's voluntary.

Out PTA makes between 12 and 14k a year. Loath

AngelsWithSilverWings · 17/05/2018 08:06

Sorry pressed send to soon! That was meant to say that most of our income comes from the two school fairs. We are no longer allowed to have a cake sales because of some rule about having to list every single ingredient and the person making the cake having to have a hygiene certificate!

BertrandRussell · 17/05/2018 08:07

"All people on the PTA (mix of mums and dads) are working in profit orientated organisations, the Treasurer is a chartered accountant, the Chair runs her own business. So we know what we're doing."
Hmm. I bet everyone else says how "cliquey" you are!

Lethaldrizzle · 17/05/2018 08:08

Op you must live in an affluent area. If our school asked for donations not sure they'd get 2 beans. Perhaps if you don't like the way things are done in your school you could step up yourself Hmm

FleurDelacoeur · 17/05/2018 08:17

Hmm. I bet everyone else says how "cliquey" you are!

We get good attendance at events but not a meetings. As someone said upthread, it's the people who never contribute anything in terms of supporting events or attending meetings who moan the most. We had a lot of whining that meetings were always at 7pm on a Monday so for a year we switched meeting times to various days of the week, various locations, start times from between 6pm to 8pm. We even offered conference call style dialling in to meetings for people who still complained it wasn't suitable for them - attendance did not increase and so we reverted to the 7pm Monday meetings. Some people just like to complain, whine and will not get involved however many hoops you jump over for them (and then still complain about the PTA and say it's cliquey).

We also tell parents regularly what the PTA is paying for. This week PTA funded first aid courses for older pupils. We've in the past funded things like author talks for World Book Day, an additional set of ipads, Scottish Opera workshops (which were amazing), playground equipment, a new sound system for the stage.... The teachers are also very supportive and will mention workshops and so on in the newsletter, mentioning that it's wholly funded by PTA donations.

Trilllllian · 17/05/2018 08:18

Incredibly mixed backgrounds at my DSs school. It’s not just about the money for us. Community for parents and children, social connections and widening the experience for families too. We have a long standing annual camping trip: it’s to a local camp site. Many many parents come who haven’t camped before, have no tent and visit for the day (and often return with a tent the next year), kids get non structured time with kids and family they haven’t experienced before. The other year we had a parents v kids football match (off the cuff - we try not to organise too much).

We have raised money through fairs, yes
We have found lots of way that parents without time or cash can contribute meaningfully to their child’s education (selling raffle tickets, getting free prizes from their employer - be it Tesco or DeLoitte, cooking their national dish for international day, making Chinese New Year/Eid/Christmas crafts.

the value is in extra-curricular activities that bring disparate families together and allow children to have social events out of school that many never have.

As well as the money.

It’s not a rose garden - it’s hard work to do these these things and to get people engaged. I understand the ‘clique’ accusation, but for me it’s truly brought me into a community with parent so wouldn’t have talked to in the playground otherwise

DrinkFeckArseGirls · 17/05/2018 08:19

Tbh I was wondering the same when they again asked for cake conributions for cake sale. It must have cost more to buy the cakes/ ingredients then the sales they got.

BertrandRussell · 17/05/2018 08:25

Our cakes sales make money. About 100 quid a fortnight-more at Christmas and Easter. As I said earlier, we buy ingredients that people can take if they want/need to. Or we refund costs if people prefer. A lot of people give cakes as their contribution.

MercedesDeMonteChristo · 17/05/2018 08:25

If your child doesn't normally indulge in sugar etc then a cake sale is really not the end of the world. We tend not to bother with the cake sale because it's often so busy.

I do think it's about community and ours has a just giving link that we can donate to anytime, they make around £21k a year.

BakedBeans47 · 17/05/2018 08:34

I think it’s fair that those parents who have the most should subsidise the parents who are struggling

I don’t really agree. Stuff like paying a couple of quid more for a school trip so kids who might not otherwise get to go, fair enough but I don’t there should be any obligation on better off parents to pay more. Just because they have a bit of money doesn’t make them a charity

BertrandRussell · 17/05/2018 08:34

Fortunately our school has two ways out. So anyone who thinks their child will be scarred for life by a fortnightly slice of cake can get them out can bundle them out the back way....