Re: This has to be illegal

[Teresa or J Glenn <jtglenn@CAROLINA.NET>]

> you sound like the school board trustee. i'm very sorry you can't see
this.
> there is nothing wrong what-so-ever in offering students the opportunity
to
> donate to charitable organizations *if* the student has the money to.
some
> of these kids families can't buy their child lunch.

Okay.  If the families can't buy the kids their lunches, where did the kids
get $2 from to buy the coupons?  If they have no money, how did they have
money for this?  (Circular, I know, and maybe I'm dense, but I'm still not
getting how a kid who can't buy lunch because he has no money coughs up $2
later.  Now, if the child *chooses* to forego lunch to buy the coupon,
that's a different story entirely.)

however....this doesn't
> even appear that these students are in fact contributing to the actual
> non-profit at all.  it appears to be a fundraiser for *school* clubs
> participating in some kind of way with these non profits.

Yes, this is very common.  Most school clubs include an element of service
to the community as part of their activities.  I am the Junior BETA Club
sponsor at my school.  So far this year we have raised money by sponsoring a
dance (again, a voluntary activity) to fund buying kids Easter Baskets and
by helping a family buy their Thanksgiving dinner.  At Christmas, through a
bakesale, we spent $800+ on several needy students in the school.  For the
March of Dimes we raised over $1600.  All these monies go *through* our club
account-- this is necessary because of the need to track funds.  I turn the
money in to the school secretary, and when we need to write a check, it
comes from that account.  No biggie.  Happens everywhere.  It's not some
dastardly plot by these clubs to pull one over on anyone.

I had no idea
> this was a *school* club UNTIL i received the open records request reply.
> either way...

I'm surprised.  Even I, just perusing through the materials you sent, caught
on very quickly that these were fundraisers for outside causes sponsored by
the clubs.  Generally "sponsored by" means the club's members are
responsible for the fundraising-- publicity, manning a booth or whatever.
This was clearly printed on the tickets the kids were selling and on the
flyer that you scanned.

i do realize there are fundraisers for the different school
> clubs. even the german club to be able send the kids to germany..that sort
> of thing...

Yes.  These were fundraisers for community organizations and causes.

but not selling the privilege to wear clothes of their own and
> their own choosing,  which by the way is NOT included in the school
> uniform/standardized dress policy.

Probably not.  Again, I'm with you on the uniform thing.  However, this
coupon deal was *voluntary.*  kids could do it or not-- unlike the uniforms.
The problem I have with uniforms is that they are *mandatory.*  The
"donation" of $2 or whatever was never mandatory; kids could participate or
not.

Again, I think you are getting sidetracked by this, and pressing this issue
weakens your position.  The position is that students' dress shouldn't be
mandated by the school board-- there shouldn't be uniforms.  To protest a
fundraising scheme for worthy causes because it is tangentially related to
students' dress makes you look a little rabid and makes your position
against uniforms look weaker.

IME, if you're going to fight for something, you have to stick to a clear
issue and not try to bring in everything that ever happened in the history
of the world that's minimally related to your cause.  One thing at a time.
Most people could listen to you on uniforms, but when you start saying that
raising money for breast cancer is wrong-- and that's what people will
hear-- you'll come off as a nut.

another problem i see is that this
> district's elementary schools are predominately Title 1 schools -
> economically disadvantaged.  these kids are already on free and reduced
> lunches.

But these were being sold in a high school-- no?  And high school kids earn
money, do odd jobs and so forth...?

 let's sell these coupons to the rich districts to be able for our
> student to wear THEIR blue jeans?

I don't understand this sentence.

top it off....put the rich kids in
> uniforms and make them purchase the coupons FOR the poor kids so that can
> wear their own jeans...IF their families were even able to afford to
> purchase the extra clothing after being FORCED to purchase clothing NOT of
> their choosing.
>

again, I'm not following you.  Are you referring to some other posts that
suggested buying coupons for other kids who couldn't afford them?  And who's
being forced to buy jeans?  Is there a teenager alive, in uniforms or not,
who doesn't own one pair of jeans?  I can't even imagine this... unless for
religious reasons the student doesn't wear jeans at all.  Does this mean
kids wear nothing but their uniforms, even on weekends?  What do they wear
on the weekends?  Jeans?  Their uniforms? I'm thinking jeans.

I find the idea that these fundraising coupons were forcing kids to go out
and buy extra clothes to be very unbelievable.  And again, it sounds crazy--
and by transference, you come across as crazy.  You do'nt want to be
labelled the Crazy Woman if you are going to wage a strong fight against
uniforms.

> Are you serious?  You can't see how wrong this is?  Really?   You've
really
> got to be kidding.

No, not really.  I don't tend to kid.  I understand what you are saying, but
I don't think the connections make sense and I don't think that getting
distraught over this issue helps your ultimate cause in the least.  Again, I
think it may brand you-- whether it's true or not-- as a bit of a kook.  And
kooks are easy to dismiss.  You don't want to be dismissed-- you want to
make your points and be listened to.  I think you can make your case against
uniforms more easily if you remain focused on that issue at this time-- and
perhaps tackle some of these less important ones after that's solved. :)


Teresa G.

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