Newport-Mesa district bans fliers for boosters that hold bingo fundraisers
Members of a Costa Mesa school booster group that holds weekly bingo fundraisers have been told they cannot post their event fliers on a schools online bulletin board because promoting games of chance is against Newport-Mesa Unified School District policies.
The group, Costa Mesa Boosters Bingo, officially started operating around the beginning of this school year. It dedicates its proceeds to student programs at Costa Mesa Middle School and Costa Mesa High School, such as the annual eighth-grade trip to Washington, D.C., and New York City, and uniforms, equipment and tournament fees for sports teams.
For two years, the school district has been using Peachjar, an online platform where groups can have electronic fliers uploaded to publicize school events such as science fairs and fundraisers. Communications from PTAs, school foundations, school-related booster clubs and qualified nonprofit organizations also can be posted.
According to Newport-Mesa’s guidelines, the district will not distribute fliers that promote games of chance, violence or consumption of alcohol or drugs.
“Because those are prohibited activities on our district facilities, we do not use district communication systems, such as Peachjar, to promote those types of things,” said district spokeswoman Annette Franco.
The booster group holds its bingo games every Tuesday evening at the Costa Mesa Senior Center on West 19th Street. The game nights are run by parents and teachers who volunteer their time.
Boosters Bingo’s publicity manager, Angela Maniaci, said the district’s policy “hurts only the students. It hurts ... sports, student travel and any of the programs that could have benefited from any money we raise.”
According to Maniaci, the boosters group has posted on Peachjar once or twice. A flier for bingo was visible on the bulletin board Friday.
Franco said that if bingo fliers had been posted, it was done inadvertently.
Maniaci said group members currently are using their personal email addresses to send out event information, along with posting on their websites and Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Another method of communication is old-fashioned word of mouth, Maniaci said.
“Our volunteers have been dwindling too,” she added. “We had around 10 to 12 per night when we started around August or September. We’re lucky if we have four to five now.”
--
Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
