With schools in affluent Vancouver neighbourhoods fundraising $40,000 per year for new technology and equipment, some parents say donations should be gathered collectively and distributed across the entire district.
Jules Quesnel Elementary is a fundraising powerhouse in the tony Point Grey neighbourhood, where parents were able to raise $115,000 for their school playground in just a few short years.
On top of that, the local Parent Advisory Council raises thousands of dollars annually for their library, sports equipment and even a Quebec exchange trip. The total collected last year to enrich their children’s public education: $60,000.
“We’ve moved into the realm of asset managers and purchasing capital assets,” parent Yvette Smith said.
And that total is just $20,000 more than schools like Shaugnessy and Trafalgar raise every year, CTV News has learned.
But while soliciting cash from parents is a strategy that can net big bucks in wealthy neighbourhoods, fundraisers in more modest areas can face an uphill battle.
At Cunningham Elementary School at 37th and Nanaimo, parents have struggled to raise money for their playground -- and they still have a long way to go.
“Many of the families, they are immigrants. I know some are on government subsidies, there’s no way we can raise enough money,” parent Valerie Lai said.
The local PAC at Cunningham hasn’t been able to buy library books for several years, and some shelves are looking bare. Parents feel they’re falling behind in technology, too; there are no iPads, and only one Smart Board in the school. Meanwhile, other schools have one in virtually every class.
District Parent Advisory Council representative Colin Redfern says there’s an equitable solution that’s already in place at local universities and hospitals.
“Centralize the fundraising apparatus,” Redfern said. “We need some sort of foundation that the schools would have to coordinate and basically run fundraising drives.”
Redfern, who will be presenting his idea at an October meeting at the Vancouver School Board, said the idea of centralizing fundraising efforts will also help prevent parents from accidentally breaking the law.
“As parents, we’re amateurs as far as [accounting] rules are concerned.”
But Vancouver School Board chair Patti Bacchus says the strategy isn’t the way to make education more equal. She argues the real solution is for the province to increase school funding so parents aren’t seen as cash cows – a point on which Redfern agrees.
“When your principal comes to you every year with a wish list of items that you have to fundraise for, that’s saying something,” he said. “They should be taking that list to a foundation, or to their bosses to be dealt with.”
The issue will be discussed at a district-wide PAC meeting on Oct. 11.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Mi-Jung Lee
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