Parent Organizations Create Inequities Among Schools

by Madison Tringone ‘22

A recurring question for many years within MCPS is whether or not the funding is equal when comparing schools in higher poverty areas with those in more affluent areas. Although MCPS has strict formulas for ensuring schools are funded equally for day-to-day operations, there may be drastic disparities in funding for athletics and other extracurriculars because of differences in the amount of money raised by schools’ respective PTAs and booster clubs.

At the request of Montgomery County Council, the county’s Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) published a report in July of 2020 titled ‘Parent Organizations in Montgomery County Public Schools’ that concluded with a number of findings, including that “all stakeholders that OLO spoke with acknowledged that there is inequity among parent organizations in the County.”

The OLO report found that parent organizations in more affluent schools have the ability to provide and pay for “student enrichment activities” while higher-poverty schools focus on providing basic needs to students and staff.

“MCPS seems to do a pretty good job of ensuring schools are getting staffing and resources by per-student formulas. However, as noted in the Office of Legislative Oversight report, there is concern that PTAs’ funds create opportunity at some schools, leaving others without,” explained Cynthia Simonson, who is the president of the Montgomery County Council of PTAs (MCCPTA).

Because financial information about PTAs and booster clubs is only publicly available if the organizations reported to the IRS more than $50,000 in receipts, the OLO found that it could not find complete information on how much PTAs raise in funds at most schools. However, a majority of parent organizations that filed the required form 990EZ for having over $50,000 in receipts were located in the Bethesda area. Of the four total high schools in the county that had $50,000 in receipts, three were in Bethesda (BCC, Walter Johnson, and Whitman). The only middle school that had $50,000 in receipts was in Bethesda (Pyle).

The OLO report found that booster clubs or foundations have more flexibility than PTAs in terms of what revenue can be used for. As a result, schools that do not have the ability to raise more funds through parent organizations are unable to have extra activities, clubs, and sports perks within their schools.

Simonson of the MCCPTA explained that although high school principals are allocated a certain amount of funding from MCPS for extracurricular activities, they are permitted to go over that amount if they have other outside revenue streams.

“When a principal exceeds what the district has allocated for these extracurricular stipends, the principal must reimburse the district using IAF funds to make up the difference,” said Simonson. “Where do those IAF funds come from? For some, it might be cellular tower fees. Other principals might have unrestricted funds coming in through school-wide events, and others might have PTAs or Booster Clubs that are donating funds directly into the Principal’s IAF account for “school support.”

Simonson continued that principals who increase their IAF accounts are also to increase activities at their schools. Since MCPS allows IAF funding raised through parent organizations to be used in this way, it can create a disparity based on the fundraising potential of the community being served. While I’ve raised this several times, to my knowledge, there has been no oversight or specific attempt to minimize this practice,” added Simonson.

The disparities created among schools due to the differences in funding by parent groups stands in contrast to the funding allocations by MCPS itself, which carefully check that less affluent schools receive equitable support from the school system. “School allocations are based on the three-year average of required gate receipts, school enrollment, and projections of student parking revenues. School enrollment figures and corresponding calculations are adjusted to reflect the number of students receiving Free and Reduced-price Meals System (FARMS) services,” said Anne Marie Rossiter, who is a CMAA Systemwide Athletics Compliance Specialist in MCPS.

Rossiter added that individual schools also are no longer invoiced for regular-season transportation because there now is a central fund to utilize when securing buses. “This will allow for a greater portion of the school’s allocation to be used for other program expenses, as well as further enhancing the equity in funding amongst schools,” said Rossiter.

Despite these efforts, parent organizations have a significant role in determining what schools will have beyond the basics.

Although support provided by an athletic booster club must be equitable for all school-sanctioned teams and for both genders at that particular school, MCPS does not prohibit inequities in the level of support of a booster club at one school compared to that support at another school.