today's lesson: drawing the line

Parental involvement is always welcome, and even embraced in the public education system. It is especially welcomed as there seems to be less and less of it these days. However, when it comes to parents donating hefty funds to their child's school, where do we draw the line?

In Walt Gardner's article, "Drawing the Line on Parental Involvement," he points out that by allowing parents to donate funds to only their child's school, we are creating a two-tiered education system--one which separates the affluent from the poverty-stricken.

While donated funds do indeed take some schools to a higher level of learning, the schools in poorer areas of the country do not feel the same benefits. In fact, many fall behind because of a lack of textbooks, proper teachers, and classroom materials.

In an effort to regulate donations, the government has stepped in. Gardner writes:

"This disparity is on display in California in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, where PTA donations have amounted to more than $2,100 per student at Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School in Malibu, compared with only $96 per student at McKinley Elementary School in Santa Monica. To comply with past court rulings, the school board is considering centralizing fundraising. Donations would be placed in a districtwide non-profit, which would then distribute the money evenly among all schools"

So where do we draw the line here? How do we tell parents they cannot use their income to help their student's school? With so many budget cuts and setbacks surrounding education, it is difficult to turn the money down. However, we must remember that every student counts. Not just those who are fortunate enough to live comfortable lives.

California's school board's consideration sounds reasonable. Why not pool the money and then distribute it evenly? Parents have the innate sense to care for children. Whether or not every dollar of their donation specifically benefits their student should not matter. Every child deserves access to a quality education.