Sunday, October 16, 2005

Elizabeth Conley / The Detroit News Denise Sorenson of Washington Township looks over the items she picked up at an Indian Hills Elementary fund-raiser with Michael Steffens, a fifth-grader at the school.

Parents opt out of pesky fund drives

Metro area schools make skipping candy, popcorn sales easy -- just write a check.

By Christina Stolarz / The Detroit News

How opt-out programs work Elementary school parent groups throughout Metro Detroit are offering parents an alternative to selling items such as Sally Foster gift wrap and Little Caesars pizza kits if they don't have the time or desire. Instead, parents can write a check to the parent group. Benefits • Saves time • No longer have to hassle co-workers • 100 percent of the proceeds go to the parent group Disadvantages • Doesn't encourage parent involvement in school activities • Not everyone can afford to donate • Can increase pressure Source: Detroit News research Can the candyman? What best describes your feelings when confronted with a ten-year-old trying to sell you a candybar for 5 bucks? I'd love to buy several, the money will help with the education of our future generations. I'll buy one, but don't I pay taxes for this kind of thing? I just can't bring myself to spend that much for chocolate. I'll pay anything for chocolate. This kid is getting on my nerves. Get results and comments Elizabeth Conley / The Detroit News PTO member and fund-raiser chairwoman Cheryl Dau, left, figures out sales totals with Market Day's Linda Constable at Indian Hills Elementary. Schools raise money by selling Market Day food products. Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

CANTON TOWNSHIP -- Laura Beauchamp wasn't thrilled when her 8-year-old son came home with something extra in his backpack this fall -- a fund-raising order form to sell chocolate candies and popcorn for Bentley Elementary School.

The Canton Township homemaker leafed through the catalog, but nothing caught her eye. And with no in-state relatives to hit up, her ability to sell is limited.

"I won't let my kids walk door to door to (sell to) people we don't know," she said.

A new option is on the horizon for parents who are tired of buying -- and selling -- traditional fund-raising items like pizza, wrapping paper and cookie dough.

An increasing number of Metro Detroit parent-teacher groups -- including those in Troy, Plymouth-Canton and Grosse Pointe -- are offering "opt-out" programs in which families can simply write a check to parent-teacher organizations to fund school activities and classroom supplies.

While this new twist in modern fund-raising adds more money to PTO coffers, some say it increases pressure on cash-strapped families to ante up.

"Some people can't afford (to write a check), and it's discriminating against those who can't," said Kathy Honsowetz, president of the Lean Elementary School PTO in Warren Consolidated Schools. "If we were doing an opt-out, that would exclude that child. In a wealthier district, it might be a little easier."

However, parents like Beauchamp say the voluntary opt-out program allows them to escape the stress of selling while still helping their children's school.

"A lot of people have been waiting for this to happen so they don't feel pressured by the catalogs that come home," she said.

It also allows PTOs and PTAs to keep all the donations, while most fund-raisers like Little Caesars pizza kits and Sally Foster gift wrap don't even bring in half of them.

In some districts, such as Lake Shore in St. Clair Shores and Grosse Pointe, parents receive a letter with a suggested donation amount -- such as $35 or $50 -- that is intended to equal the parent-teacher group's per-child fund-raising needs.

Christine Cullen, who is involved in the Monteith Elementary School parent-teacher organization in Grosse Pointe Woods, feels the opt-out plan can dampen the community spirit that school fund-raisers can generate.

"There's a coldness to it that I don't think would touch people," said Cullen, who thinks fund-raising activities bring parents together to socialize. "There are only so many times people can reach in their pockets.

"I think people just don't have it, and they get tired of being asked."

Need for fund-raisers grows

Fund raising is big business for schools, public and private. Each of the estimated 500 elementary groups statewide affiliated with the Michigan Parent-Teacher-Student Association raised an average of $32,000 last year through activities or donations, said Donna Oser, executive director.

And in a time of shrinking school budgets, that fund-raising money is used for everything from classroom supplies to playground equipment to field trips.

The Rodgers Elementary School Parent-Teacher Club in St. Clair Shores brings in $14,000 to $17,000 a year and used a third of the funds a few years ago to put in a new playscape at the school.

In Sterling Heights, the Black Elementary PTO has spent more than $3,000 to purchase books for its media center.

And parents feel the pressure.

"So many parents work nowadays that they can't put in the time for the fund-raiser," Oser said. "It's very important to keep in mind, not every parent has the time to commit ... or the funds (to donate)."

Karen Sanford knew something had to change when the excitement level for selling pizza kits and candies was pretty low among parents in Canton Township.

The fund-raisers had traditionally been successful for the Bentley Elementary School PTO, but as time wore on, enthusiasm waned.

"A lot of parents, although they were happy to contribute and help the schools, they weren't as excited about going out and selling," said Sanford, 34, second vice president of committees for the PTO.

"They had asked, 'Can we just write a check?' I heard it again and again."

The PTO offered the opt-out program this year based on parent demand and, so far, Sanford said, it's been successful. And if the donations continue to roll in, there's a chance the parent group will eliminate some of its fund-raisers.

Rasheda Durham wished someone at her daughter's new charter school, the Academy of Warren, had given her that option before the fund-raising order forms came home earlier this school year.

"It seems like the same thing year after year. You don't want to say no," said Durham, 28, whose daughter, Lashaylah, is a third-grader. "It's a whole other job for me. I don't like being bothered by it.

"I'd rather make a donation -- it's easier."

And since most parent-teacher groups prohibit kids from selling door-to-door, an easy alternative is for parents to put some added pressure on their co-workers.

Prizes add pressure

Some parents don't like the pressure put on students to fund-raise. In some districts, the PTAs hold assemblies to get kids excited about the prizes they could win for selling a certain amount.

Wyatt Bevins' eyes grew wide last year at the thought of winning a DVD or television. The catch: Sell more than $1,000 worth of catalog items through the Indian Hills Elementary School PTO.

"It'd be pretty cool to have a TV in your room," said Wyatt, 11, who's now a sixth-grader at Powell Middle School in Romeo Community Schools.

But his mother, Sue, knew there was no chance they would meet the quota because many of the household wares in the catalog were tacky and overpriced.

This year is an especially tough fund-raising year because of hurricane relief efforts and local layoffs, said Tina Stellas, 48, president of the Rodgers Elementary PTC in St. Clair Shores' Lake Shore district. The PTO took the fresh opt-out approach this year, giving parents the option to donate whatever they can afford.

After some parents asked for a suggested amount, the PTO sent a letter home saying $35 per child would equal the estimated proceeds from the fall and spring fund-raisers, Stellas said.

Schools say the money is essential, no matter how it's raised.

The Angell Elementary School PTA in Berkley hopes to earn an estimated $19,000 this year from fund-raisers in order to put on school assemblies, a few dances and a field day and buy supplies for each teacher in the school. Without the money, those activities aren't possible, said C.J. Morrell, association president.

"We can only do as much as the money is available for us to do," she said.

You can reach Christina Stolarz at (586) 468-0343 or cstolarz@detnews.com.