A better model than school fundraising

Opinion

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This article was published 18/11/2024 (316 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg School Division (WSD) Supt. Matt Henderson made recent headlines when he said that he planned to phase out school-based fundraising due to the disparities it creates between schools. He argued that schools should cover costs for things like field trips rather than passing the cost on to families.

This was welcome news to many parents, as well as public education advocates like ourselves (People for Public Education), who have voiced that the public education system should not be relying on private donations to supplement student opportunities.

Henderson’s comments indicated he would be working with the division’s trustees to update policies and phase out what he deemed “unfettered fundraising”; however, the reality of this plan came into question when the superintendent’s office sent an email to parent councils only a day later, clarifying that WSD “is not banning fundraising in our schools.”

The response from some parents to Henderson’s initial announcement was swift. A quick review of Reddit posts and discussions on Facebook reveals ample comments arguing that removing school fundraising will only reduce the resources students have access to, limiting all students because of the reduced capacity of some communities.

To be clear, public school students deserve resources and hands-on learning opportunities like field trips. These are not “extras” and are essential parts of a robust education system, which is why it is important that their availability does not hinge on parents having the means to fundraise for them.

When public education rests on fundraising, it contributes to societal inequities. Currently, in many divisions, parent groups are conducting their fundraising at an arm’s length from the school itself, making it challenging to know what fundraising is even happening and limiting the comparability and visibility of how money is being raised and spent at different schools.

My recent research into school fundraising in Winnipeg found concerning patterns. Principals in the division I studied received little guidance on what parent advisory council (PAC) fundraising activities they could approve and were also not expected to provide financials on PAC fundraising to the division.

Some schools in this division had parent groups undertaking multi-year, six-figure campaigns, while other schools struggled to even sustain a working parent group, let alone engage with fundraising. This illustrates the great financial disparities that exist between schools even in the same division.

Fundraising has become a normalized part of the public system and a major role of parent advisory councils, and it can’t simply be wiped out overnight. However, there are alternatives that could reduce the inequity issues that are disadvantageous to certain school communities and their students. In liberal democracies, public schools are considered the ‘great equalizer’ that provide the opportunity for all students to succeed, but this requires that school systems be structured in ways that provide equitable access to resources.

In order to achieve this, I first recommend moving away from fundraising at the individual school level. Seven Oaks School Division adopted this policy a number of years ago, putting fundraising at the divisional level and moving away from charging families for field trips, band equipment, and other opportunities that create enriching opportunities.

Not only does the Seven Oaks model lessen the issue of fundraising capacity between schools, but it also gives the division more control over what fundraising activities are occurring and allows them to retain power over decision-making over what the money is used for.

Secondly, and more broadly, fundraising is often a response to the current underfunding of the public education system. I wonder what parent involvement could look like if their energies and voices were used to advocate for robustly funded schools, rather than on their right to fundraise to fill government funding shortfalls.

People for Public Ed Manitoba sees public input through mechanisms like parent councils and elected school boards as being essential to the public education system. Rather than focusing their energy on fundraising, parent councils could be a means for parents to have a say at influencing policy development at the board level and advocating for funding that is distributed in a more equitable and sustainable way across schools.

All students deserve to study and learn in an enriched learning environment, and fundraising is not the solution for providing this. We call on parents, administrators, and school trustees to use their voices to advocate to the provincial government that these opportunities need to be present in every school. This includes continuing the conversation about fundraising and equity and considering what kind of policies their schools could realize in their community contexts.

Schools cannot be the great equalizer if the system is already inequitable when students step in the door. Parents and school boards have the opportunity to use their voices to ensure that their policies and practices reflect this ideal for all students in their communities.

Emily Livingston is a doctoral candidate in the faculty of education at the University of Manitoba and a member of People for Public Education Manitoba.