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| Thread ID: 142373 | 2016-06-22 04:57:00 | School Fees ... OPPS ... donations Opinions wanted | SP8s (7813) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 1422227 | 2016-06-22 04:57:00 | Hi all I coach a ten guys from a secondary school, doesn't matter what sport it is, but the club it's associated with is a non-profit organisation. The school in question asks the parents to pay a donation at the start of the year but say it isn't compulsory. Now the ten guys do quite a bit of fundraising during the year to reduce costs, but some of them can't pay the outstanding account at the end of the year. What I've just found out, is the school has taken some of the fundraising money these guys have worked hard for, and used it to put towards the school "donation" and not taken it off the sports account as it should have been. While I believe it's misappropriation of funds, i.e. Not used for the specified purpose, the school is insisting that the parents have still benefited by lowering other accounts. One other thing that I don't agree with, is the money doesn't belong to the parents, it was the guys money. Last weekend there was a competition and one of the guys got 2 medals ... well actually they didn't, because the club decided that he wouldn't receive them until the overdue portion of his 2015 account had been paid. What's your opinion on this ... ?? |
SP8s (7813) | ||
| 1422228 | 2016-06-22 05:05:00 | School sux :( | Zippity (58) | ||
| 1422229 | 2016-06-22 05:33:00 | Well someone had to fund the Kapa haka trip to Hawaii. :D | B.M. (505) | ||
| 1422230 | 2016-06-22 06:16:00 | What's your opinion on this ... ??It sucks goats. | Greg (193) | ||
| 1422231 | 2016-06-22 07:16:00 | I have been involved in college school fund raising , unfortunately policy seems to include other accounts be topped up, or pooling of specific raised funds with others. You could try garner local sponsorship, volunteers, banks (ASB), lottery board, radio stations, either in money or items or services for free. But school likely want a piece of the pie...unless of course channel direct payment to the club from sponsors. Or get on the board of trustees to try change or the school's (or their accountant) funds allocation. But Govt's, large companies do similar (I have seen that) one department income/fees supporting another... |
kahawai chaser (3545) | ||
| 1422232 | 2016-06-22 07:23:00 | Don't let the school anywhere near the money. I don't believe in the school donation anyway. School should be fully funded the same as politicians are. |
gary67 (56) | ||
| 1422233 | 2016-06-22 07:25:00 | Last weekend there was a competition and one of the guys got 2 medals ... well actually they didn't, because the club decided that he wouldn't receive them until the overdue portion of his 2015 account had been paid. What's your opinion on this ... ?? School donations are a vexing subject. For several years I chaired the BoT of a major Auckland College, and funding for the School as a whole was always a challenge. All Governments have under-funded schools, and 'my' College had to take on paying students from overseas to make ends meet. We also set up an adult English Language School and some other income-producing activities in order to fund the number of teaching staff needed to operate the school, and also to develop Sports facilities. By those means we also funded a significant proportion of a new teaching block. The BoT's account expenditure over time was counted in $millions. We kept 'Church and State' separate at all times, with all non-governmental funding ring-fenced in separate accounts. Neither the School per-se nor the Board of Trustees could touch those accounts, but the BoT monitored those income sources and the usage of the funds raised. A 'school donation' is, by definition, not a compulsory levy, and cannot be used as such against non-paying parents, but non-payers may sometimes be excluded from extra-curricular activities separately funded by participating parents. The child of a non-paying parent is entitled to the full academic curriculum, but some activities may be limited. In my time as Chair I saw several instances where staff members paid, out of their own pocket, the costs for the student of a solo parent, to enable that student to participate fully in an activity when he or she would otherwise have been denied the experience. In the issue above, it does sound like the School has 'diverted' the funds raised, and that should not happen. When a group of students and or parents engage in a fund raising exercise, firstly they are entitled to raise it in the name of 'XYZ College Tiddly-Winks Club Travel Fund' and that should be held in a separate account, dedicated to the intended purpose, and over-seen by the BoT (which may have been complicit in the acquisition for 'other purposes'). Whether it is retrievable or not would depend on the specifics surrounding the Board's decision to divert that funding to another purpose, and whether it was properly ring-fenced in the School's accounts. It sounds to me that the student's money (because that is what it was) has been paid into a general account and was skimmed without the approval of the fund raisers or its intended recipents. In that case, an audit of the school's accounts should be undertaken, and I suggest that a delegation meet with the BoT (who may know nothing about this) and first of all, demand the return of the funds to its rightful beneficiaries (providing that they were identified as such during the fund-raising exercise) and ensure that any future 'special purpose' parent-funding is ring-fenced from BoT funding and dedicated solely to its intended purpose. Cheers Billy 8-{) |
Billy T (70) | ||
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