Equity Task Force Solution: One PTA Pot Equally Shared For Elementary School Extras
A task force charged with how to bring an equal range of creative school-day opportunities to three elementary schools, despite unequal cash donations, suggests collaboration and sharing.
The Equity Task Force met from January through March of 2011. Pictured at the end of the table are principals Terry Georgeson of Ocean View (left), David Kumamoto of Marin and Wendy Holmes of Cornell.
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After months of intense meetings marked by stressful conflict and reassuring resolution, the Albany Unified School District’s Equity Task Force presented to the school board Tuesday its solution to the controversial dilemma of uneven elementary school donations. (View the full equity report as a PDF to the right.)
On paper the plan sounds relatively simple. The group recommends that the Parent Teacher Association at each of Albany’s three elementary schools, Ocean View, Cornell and Marin, collaborate on one or two annual fundraisers, pooling the money raised and distributing it equally to each site.
But to the task force of parents, teachers, principals and administrators who spent hours hashing out the plan, the work was anything but simple, as they tackled the sensitive issue of how to maintain equal education when some schools rake in lots of cash for extras, and others don’t.
"We all came to the table with certain conceptions, misconceptions, angers and frustrations," said task force member Holly White, a Marin school parent. "It turned out to be an amazing process of getting to know each other’s perspectives. We need to take this back to our communities."
Equal slices of pie for arts and other extra classes
Under the proposal, the pooled fund, which would be managed by the district, is specifically for courses during the school day, such as the arts, music, poetry, "strategy games" and "character building," which usually depend heavily on PTA and other community donations.
"The same broad areas of extensions and supplements will be represented at all three schools, with the choice of programs offered per grade level to be determined by the principal, teachers, and PTA of that site," according to the task force recommendations.
The money would be collected "blindly," without tracking which school it’s from. The plan is to start with at least $15,000 a year in the pooled pot, or $5,000 per PTA, with an overall fundraising goal of $60,000 to $90,000. The overall goal includes about $5,000 per site in SchoolCARE money, based on the organizations's contribution history.
"Ultimately what we hope to come out of this with is the opportunity to understand that we’re one district with three elementary schools, and we’re one community," said Terry Georgeson, principal of Ocean View Elementary School, and a task force member.
The recommendation, which was reached unanimously, suggests leaving each school's PTA autonomous to organize and raise money for other projects, such as community events or school improvements. A multi-PTA council will be formed to oversee the pooled fundraising.
A hot button issue brings school policy soul searching
The school equity issue has been sizzling since fall when the district announced that Cornell and Marin schools would have to stop providing donation-funded courses because Ocean View lacked the money for this. The outcry from parents and teachers led to the formation of the task force.
The school district cited Board Policy 5000 in making its decision. The policy states, "The Board is fully committed to providing equal educational opportunities." It also cited policy 3290, which says, "all gifts, grants and bequests shall become district property."
Field trip funding was identified as a significant factor in the donation imbalance, as Ocean View has fewer parent drivers available, so uses proportionately more of its PTA money on field trips than the other schools. This leaves less cash for enrichment.
To address this, the task force recommends the school district fund Ocean View field trips, taking this expense “off the table for the PTA,” said Superintendent Marla Stephenson, also on the task force.
The report also called for the district to loan money to the pooled fund, at the start of the 2011-12 school year, to allow time for fundraising, with the understanding it will be repaid.
This loan would allow programs to be planned prior to the first group fundraiser. Fundraisers held in 2011-12 would ideally make enough to repay the funds.
Other recommendations include rewriting Board Policy 3290 to say, in part, "While greatly appreciating acceptable donations, the Board discourages any gifts that may directly or indirectly impair its commitment to providing equal education..."
The school board had an overwhelmingly positive response to the plan.
"This is very exciting and very complex," said board member Ron Rosenbaum. The board doesn't need to approve the recommendation formally, because it's a PTA matter, though parts will get voted on, such as budget items or board policy changes.
The task force could very well have more work ahead. The group found merit in examining the pros and cons of changing district attendance policy so elementary schools have a mix of kids, rather than drawing from their immediate neighborhood.
"It’s something you may want to take up down the road... though it's not that we’re endorsing it," said Stephenson, suggesting the value of further study. The practical challenges would be huge, she acknowledged.
Read previous stories about conversations about equity in Albany here.
Everyone makes mistakes ... even us! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325, or email her at emilier@patch.com.
In This article
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Ocean View Elementary School
1000 Jackson St, Albany, CA -
Cornell Elementary School
920 Talbot Ave, Albany, CA -
Marin Elementary School
1001 Santa Fe Ave, Albany, CA -
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SchoolCARE
1563 Solano Ave, Berkeley, CA
JJMarieKK
12:35 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
Many thanks to the task force for all the hard work and creating a plan. My daughter was in tears when she found out about the programs that were offered in different schools. I told her the grownups would work something out, and now I can tell her that they did. Albany is an awesome town!
Copper Hat
12:51 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
I find it peculiar that 'equity' is conveniently defined only in terms of PTA contributions. I gather that the 'commitment to providing equal education' doesn't apply to computer labs. and large grass fields.
If the district funds field trips and takes this significant issue 'off the table', then what exactly was the issue again? Will the presumed imbalance be resolved by the targeted goal of $5k per site? I can't imagine that $5k will pay for much of anything.
Also, each elementary school's catchment area is far from the 'immediate neighborhood'. Perhaps the group should do their homework first, before triggering what will clearly be a tinder-box issue. Busing in our one mile square area is insane, disruptive to community, and clearly contrary to any 'green' goals. This is truly Dilbertesque.
Emilie Raguso
1:32 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
It would be great if someone from the task force could weigh in, but here's my understanding (in brief):
* I don't think they're defining equity in terms of PTA contributions. But their goal in this particular time period was to make recommendations about the contributions. There are other pieces of "equal education" that fall under the responsibility of the district, and obviously other issues relating to equity that could be discussed. (Issues that have come up have included both the student populations and also the transfer/permit issue.)
* I wasn't at the meeting when they came up with the $5k figure, so I'm not sure how far that goes. We'd have to take a look at the budget documents included in earlier stories on this topic to see what the breakdown was (I recall there was a rough list per school for these sorts of expenditures, though it was a working document, and may have included inaccuracies).
* I haven't looked closely at the data, but my understanding is that the vast majority of students attend their "neighborhood" elementary school -- the one that's closest. I never heard anyone talk about busing. In a city the size of Albany, I imagine children could theoretically walk to any elementary school.... time allowing.
* Also, this group is not behind the idea of adjusting the elementary populations. It's something the district has looked at to deal with inequity in a more systemic way.
Copper Hat
3:27 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
Thanks for the info Emilie.
From what I understand, 95% of people get their first choice of elementary school. And let's call reconfiguration by its more usual name, busing. These euphemisms only serve to obfuscate the issue and surprise people when it actually happens. If the 95% figure is correct, what is the point in pursuing busing?
The task force did decide to only focus on the PTA funding issue, while ignoring others. 'Fixing' equity issues in isolation is almost a contradiction.
Emilie Raguso
3:56 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
I can't speak for anyone here, but I did sit in on a few of these meetings. I think many in the district, including task force members, would agree that this is a step, or beginning, of a long conversation -- and not the end. But change often happens slowly, but inevitably, so it will be interesting to see what comes of this effort, and of the task force.
My understanding is that most people request the elementary school nearest their home, and obviously where you live is dictated by what you can afford, or other life circumstances, to a large extent. So if you're choosing your school because of convenience, but your home based on economics, it's really the residential location that's determining the "choice."
It seemed like everyone in the room on this issue agreed that all Albany's children should be equally stimulated and engaged and supported.
That's probably all I have to say about this, but it would be great to hear from the PTA presidents.
Catherine (Kate) Rauch
1:50 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
It was very clearly stated by the task force at the board meeting that this is only one piece of equity, and that more remains to be identified and worked on. They accomplished something very tangible, working quickly. Also - the talk of district "reconfiguration" as it's formally called, or revising attendance flows, etc. was presented as one way of getting further equity, but clearly a major step, with many pros and cons, and nothing something on the table at present. As I understand it, the task force looked broadly, identifying something they thought they could really make happen to address the immediate concern of class time extras.
Jon Meyers
3:22 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
Indeed, the idea of district "reconfiguration" would be a tinderbox issue. Before going down that path, perhaps the well-intentioned folks should take a look at the San Francisco experience (and perhaps Berkeley as well).
In San Francisco, they have a highly complex (and miserable) lottery system for placing students. That system has been mismanaged and gamed for years. After much study, debate, and angst, the system was finally adjusted to prioritize based on what everyone already knew - most people want their kids to go to their neighborhood schools.
In Albany's case it's also curious that we're hearing about "reconfiguration" with respect to "equity". It's hard to see the connection between school assignment and providing a district-wide continuity in the overall educational experience. Seems to me that the latter concept means setting the same educational standards, classes, facilities, activities, etc. across the 3 elementary sites - though we'd probably still have to accept that Marin will never have a nice, big, grassy field.
Copper Hat
5:08 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
I think the Berkeley experience is similar to that of SF. And much of the noise is self-serving. If the district started talking about (far more justifiable) busing with, say, Richmond schools, I would hazard a guess that that would end the discussion pretty much immediately. The real differences between our elementary schools are marginal and much exacerbated. (Don't misunderstand me here, I am *not* suggesting that we bus with other schools.) And there will always be differences.
I realize that Marin will never have a grassy field, that's why trying to 'solve' the equity 'problem' is some separable way is almost meaningless. There is a difference between 'equal' and 'equity'. As with the grass, equal will never happen. Equity involves making trade-offs and compromises between different things. Focusing on just one aspect makes about as much sense as juggling balls one ball at a time.
There is an troubling implication underlying related discussions that having more than someone else is somehow inherently bad, be it by way of house value, or PTA money. Clearly there should be fair access to 'public' resource and opportunity (though since the equity discussion only applies to the Albany Enclave, it is clear that the notion of equity is a pretty restricted one). But personal value and fair sharing of public resource are two separate things.
Holly White
5:38 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
I was the Marin parent rep on the task force. Let me clarify one thing first. The task force absolutely did not unanimously endorse the idea of reconfiguring the schools according to demographics (socio-economic status, ethnicity, and so on). I think this was not presented as accurately as it could have been at the board meeting (and I let Marla know that). It is true that some people on the task force feel strongly that AUSD should make that change. Others (including me) think that parental choice should remain the primary factor for school assignment. However, because some members of the task force do support reconfiguring, the task force did feel comfortable suggesting that the school board might want to look into that as an option. The task force itself did not take a pro or con position on reconfiguring.
Second, the article is incorrect above when it states that the enrichment fundraising goal will be $15,000. That figure derives from the fact that each PTA has committed to putting in $5,000 from its own budget to seed the enrichment pot each year. But the monies raised each year from the joint fundraisers will be added to that $15,000, hopefully to get us to something between $60,000 and $90,000 total to split among the three sites. The $5,000 from each site represents our shared commitment to providing enrichment at all three sites, but is not the total that will be raised or spent.
Catherine (Kate) Rauch
5:57 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
Thanks for clarifying Holly. It was clear to me from the meeting that the whole subject of reconfiguration was something that was discussed by the task force, but certainly not part of its recommendation. I took it to be in the category of down-the-line maybes to be considered by the school board, if and when. . . .
And I knew the $15,000 was a starting point, pooled from the three PTAS, but hadn't heard a number beyond this, so we'll make this correction. Thanks again. (And yes, $60,000 to $90,000 sounds like a good target for the purpose; compared to $15,000.)
Copper Hat
5:58 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
Thanks for the info. Holly.
I have a letter from the IRS which indicates that the Ocean View PTA did not file returns for either 2008 or 2009. This can happen when gross receipts are $25k or less. Assuming this to be true, under the best case assumption (which is unlikely, since their net receipts must be less than this) and noting that this is their *total* yearly collection, it seems unlikely that the upper goal can be reached based on a single special fund raiser, unless the other two sites make significantly larger contributions. Is this what the task force was thinking when they made these estimates?
Holly White
5:59 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
I should add to the above numbers that we anticipate that SchoolCARE will continue to be able to contribute $15,000 toward elementary enrichment. So the $15K from the PTAs plus the $15K from SchoolCARE would mean that our enrichment pot would start at $30,000 each year. The fundraiser revenues would be added on top of that.
Emilie Raguso
10:04 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
This rings a bell. I should have caught this, but I was *not* reading it thinking this would be the only money raised. I think it's more of a clarification than a correction, and I have adjusted the language based on a suggestion from Kate.
Does this seem clearer now?
Holly White
5:57 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
I also want to clarify why the task force took the enrichment issue as its sole equity focus. Most obviously, it is because that is the issue that caused the uproar we've had in the district this year. That is the issue that needed to be solved immediately--and the one the school board asked us to look at specifically. We would not have been able to continue providing enrichment classes at Marin and Cornell if we didn't figure out a way to provide them at Ocean View as well. I'm not sure that the community would have wanted us to take months/years studying facilities improvements and technology issues and everything else, in the meantime leaving our schools without enrichment programs.
As the Marin parents commenting on here no doubt know, we devoted one of our recent PTA meetings to discussing precisely these issues. I also put out several thorough explanations of the task force's work on our e-tree. I wonder if you took the opportunity to come to that meeting and engage in the conversation, at which I really tried to explain to our community all the reasons why it was important for us to engage in this process. I know I didn't hear from you directly after I posted the materials on the e-tree. It seems that there is still some frustration about the conclusions the task force came to. I would be happy to discuss them further with you if you'd like to contact me.
Copper Hat
6:41 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
I was there, and believe that I was fairly unambiguous both verbally and in voting (I am not subtle in this regard).
Holly White
7:19 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
Ah. I'm pretty sure I know who you are now, Mr. Hat. And I agree about the subtlety :-). If I recall correctly (and I have the right person), you did arrive at the meeting a bit late, so I think you missed some of the introductory discussion that related to how the task force arrived at focusing on enrichment, and so on. I really would be happy to discuss anything in person if you'd like.
Copper Hat
11:56 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
Hi Holly, you have the right person. I missed the introduction (feeding kids), but am au fait with the proceedings (and have done much research and number crunching on this issue).
I appreciate the time and effort the task force has put into this.
My disagreement lies on two levels. First, I do not believe there is a huge inequity in terms of use of public resource. There are differences, of course, but these are not gross, and do not clearly favor one school over another. And without a broader understanding, it is easy to come to simplistic conclusions. Second, I believe the district is bullying the PTAs by threatening to remove programs funded at some sites unless the PTAs do as they say.
The district should decide whether or not it allows PTA in-class support without mandating 'equity'. The PTAs can decide independently if they wish to share.
Just to put ballpark numbers out, the stretch goal of $90k corresponds to about 1% of the district's per-pupil spending. It astounds me that such incredible value-add comes from a 1% increment. I find it hard to believe that the district is running so lean that it cannot eke out a savings of $60 per pupil per year. That's less than the price of one new computer (and IT costs) per classroom.
By way of comparison, one good local private school costs less than the district's per-pupil spending.
We need some fiscal management and creativity here instead of a potentially divisive solution to a non-problem
L
7:33 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
I am interested to know if the Albany School District can actually take control of PTA funds. I am a PTA member. I joined a not-for-profit organization that adheres to standards of affiliation and meets IRS requirements. PTA funds are separate and independent from school funds. I am fairly certain that PTA is not going to look kindly upon Albany School District co-mingling funds between three schools, and deciding where to spend it. It is NOT their money.
Holly White
7:40 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
Hi L., the district is absolutely not taking control of PTA funds. The three PTAs are voluntarily choosing to conduct particular joint fundraisers to fund specific enrichment programs. The three PTAs will still operate separately, still do their own individual fundraisers, and still support their school sites in many other ways. The school district will not be deciding how the jointly raised funds will be spent. The decision-making process will remain at each site, through collaboration with the teachers, principal, and PTA of that site.
Copper Hat
11:28 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
The article does say that the pooled funds 'would be managed by the district'?
Ira Sharenow
8:04 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
For those interested in basic demographic information, this is from the California Department of Education web site. I believe I copied the numbers correctly, but AUSD may not have provided accurate data.
http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/API/APISearchName.asp?TheYear=&cTopic=API&cLevel=District&cName=Albany&cCounty=&cTimeFrame=S
On the education scale 5 represents a graduate degree and 4 represents an undergrad degree.
Disadvantaged
AUSD AHS AMS Cornell Marin OV
2010 G 196 17 162 8 2 6
2009 G 512 125 187 61 30 108
2008 G 376 87 104 43 33 104
2007 G 414 100 115 53 39 102
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Free Lunch
AUSD AHS AMS Cornell Marin OV
2010 G 6% 0% 19% 0% 0% 1%
2009 G 17% 13% 20% 17% 9% 32%
2008 G 13% 9% 11% 14% 10% 28%
2007 G 15% 11% 14% 17% 12% 28%
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Average Ed
AUSD AHS AMS Cornell Marin OV
2010 G 4.19 4.07 4.20 4.21 4.49 4.10
2009 G 4.18 4.10 4.14 4.24 4.47 4.09
2008 G 4.18 4.08 4.14 4.22 4.47 4.17
2007 G 4.19 4.07 4.18 4.24 4.42 4.22
Marsha Skinner
11:18 am on Friday, April 8, 2011
These % Free Lunch percentages look REALLY dubious
While the middle school is within 1% of last year, three sites show zero?
This looks more like a " failure to claim" rather than an accurate number
If Albany is ranked with " comparable" schools using these figures, the ratings are likely to be disastrous.
Catherine (Kate) Rauch
11:57 am on Friday, April 8, 2011
Copper Hat - My understanding is the district will "manage" or house the fund in a similar fashion as to how a bank manages an account. The bank doesn't tell account holders how or where or when to spend their money. Under the plan presented, schools decide how to spend their piece of the pie. (I don't know if the fund will accrue interest in a literal bank; it may. Bank fees could also be charged.)
Dawn
12:24 pm on Friday, April 8, 2011
I am all for helping out all the schools to meet their fundraising goals, but I question this new joint fundraising plan. How will the OV parenst be encouraged to donate more time and money when they know that Cornell and Marin parents will be subsidizing them? Let's all stop pretending that this isn't what's going to happen. I also don't like the idea of the district being able to control the money from the PTAs. We are not a wealthy family at all, but we manage to give some time and money to our school every year. If our pta is not going to be allowed to subsidize the enrichment programs, can someone convince me why my money is not better spent on after-school art/music/chess classes for my child?
Holly White
5:36 pm on Friday, April 8, 2011
Hi Dawn,
First of all, the district will not be controlling the money. The money will be deposited into a district-administered fund simply because it makes sense for it to go into a third-party entity, not directly into individual PTA pots. The district will divide the money according to the plan laid out in the task force document, and each school site will decide how to use its portion of the funds through a collaborative process between teachers, parents, and the principal. The goal is for the money to be collected blindly--we should never know how much is coming from Marin parents, Cornell parents, OV parents. We will all be individuals donating into one large pot for the benefit of all.
I think it is important for all of us to remember that this is the sole way we will fund enrichment programs in elementary schools. Parents from all three schools have major incentive to donate to the fund. If we don't donate, we don't have programs in our schools, that's that. OV families have just as much incentive--the exact same incentive--as Marin and Cornell parents do. Yes, some families will have more capacity to donate than others, there's no getting around that. Thinking about it in terms of what individual families can do, rather than grouping those families by school, brings a different perspective. Just as there are families at Marin who struggle financially, there are those at OV who have capacity to donate generously.
Ira Sharenow
8:54 pm on Friday, April 8, 2011
How big a difference is there between the three schools? Have AMS teachers noticed that one school produces particularly strong or weak students compared to the other two? Are parents of middle school students needing to hire tutors because one school under-performed compared to the other two? Are there any AMS or AHS students who feel they were at an advantage or disadvantage when they graduated from an Albany elementary school to AMS?
I agree that some of the data AUSD provided to CDE looks problematic.
One detail I am not sure about. Are about 95% of parents obtaining their school of choice but that does not mean they are choosing the closest school? Are many Albany Hill parents not sending their children to Ocean View? Do transfers (legal and false addresses), especially the less well off ones, wind up at Ocean View?
BTW what happened to the nonresidents who did not confess?
Adrianne Cabanatuan
9:58 pm on Friday, April 8, 2011
I was the Cornell parent on the equity task force and after reading through the comments to this article want to make sure that anyone reading this article and its accompanying comments think about what it means to have a public school education in this country as well as in this state at this time in history. Gone are the days of having a school district be able to provide the extensions to the core that the California School System once provided. At one time, California public schools provided education in music, art, theater and foreign language as a part of the curriculum. We can have impact on what the school system provides by ensuring our political representatives hear from us on these issues. That said, we have to deal with what is happening now and up to now we have had one school in our district that has not had equal access to extensions to the core due to funding. This is not something that should be allowed. If your child was attending the school who lacked the funding (either from the district or the PTA), I would hope that you would stand up and make yourself heard.
Adrianne Cabanatuan
9:58 pm on Friday, April 8, 2011
We heard during the task force meetings that when the kids reached middle school, that teachers there said the students were not coming in with a complete arts education and that elementary principles needed to be taught in middle school. This is not the way I want my school distrcit to operate. When my son reaches middle school, I want to know that he is set up for success by his education in K-5. Furthermore, I want to know that the kids he will be going to school with are also well prepared in all areas so that they can all move forward in their education rather than being forced to repeat concepts. It is incumbent upon us as parents of school children in this community that we do what we need to do to ensure that all Albany children are prepared for success.
Copper Hat
7:21 am on Saturday, April 9, 2011
The amount of PTA money is absolutely trivial compared to the General Fund money. Trivial. It is just noise in the district budget. Things are tight, but not at the breaking point that is presumed. Frankly, I find it hard to understand how this has become such a huge mess.
As an aside, I am skeptical of the Ocean View PTA numbers that have been presented. They seem disorganized with rather lax accounting. And, from what I can gather (my sample is small here), very limited effort has been made to reach out to parents (such as to justify why drivers are needed for field trips, so PTA funds can be used for enrichment). Unlike other sites, Ocean View Elementary has a high turnover for 30% of its population, which means that extra efforts need to be made to communicate the benefits of PTA involvement.
All schools have a fairly distributed catchment, certainly with higher density in the corresponding vicinity, but by no means the simple us vs. them that is sometimes suggested. Simple maps of the catchment areas for each school would diffuse this perception a lot (with suitable modifications for privacy). The often implied stereotype that Marin and Cornell catchments are wealthy is simplistic at best.