Investing in Education by Peddling Products

It’s hard work, it’s time-consuming and it certainly wasn’t written into the job description. But for elementary school principals across the nation, fund-raising has become a modern fact of life--a nagging, necessary chore that pays off in the form of a better education for their students.

“It’s a pain,” acknowledged Principal Aurora Perez of Leo Politi School near downtown Los Angeles. “It is a lot of work. But the end results are well worth it.”

Perez said her school organizes one major fund-raiser each year, with the proceeds going toward “little extras” such as ice cream for pupils selected as students of the month or special luncheons for graduating fifth-graders.

“When I can provide those boys and girls with T-shirt incentives for perfect attendance, that’s the payoff,” Perez said.

Her comments echo the results of a recent survey by the National Assn. of Elementary School Principals, which found that most principals view fund-raising as a necessary evil, a sometimes unpleasant activity that nonetheless yields important benefits--benefits too good to pass up.

Ninety percent of survey respondents said their schools raise money to supplement public funding. And although 62% of the principals said they would end fund-raising if possible, 81% said the benefits justify the time and effort.

“In some cases, if they don’t find the money themselves, their students go without computers, field trips, library books and even pens and paper,” said Vincent Ferradino, the association’s executive director.

If principals seem to have grudgingly accepted the need for fund-raising, the same cannot always be said of parents. Just over half of the principals said they have fielded complaints from irritated parents, most objecting that there are too many fund-raisers. Others complained about the use of children as salespeople and the poor quality of the products sold.

But some survey respondents had a decidedly more positive outlook, praising fund-raisers for their ability to increase parents’ involvement and boost school spirit.

Howard Lappin, principal of the Foshay Learning Center in South-Central Los Angeles, takes a practical point of view.

“We don’t have enough money, so we’d better find it somewhere,” he said. “I don’t dislike it. I think that’s an important part of my job. It doesn’t bother me, because I’m doing it for kids; I’m not doing it for me.”

Lappin takes it upon himself to apply for grants and to solicit money from businesspeople, community groups and other private sources. As a result, Foshay--which includes kindergarten through 12th grade--has been able to build a $1-million library and purchase close to 1,000 computers for the school’s 3,400 students.

Nationally, the survey found that the funds raised are most commonly used to buy classroom equipment, finance field trips and purchase new library books or playground equipment.

Book fairs are by far the most popular fund-raising activity, followed by product sales, student/family portraits and school carnivals. Many schools also raise funds year-round by collecting food labels and box tops, or through retail affiliation programs.

In many cases, booster clubs and other parent-teacher organizations assume the burden of fund-raising. But that doesn’t necessarily make it more palatable to school administrators.

“The only reason I think fund-raising is valuable is because the results are important,” said one principal. “But wouldn’t it be great to focus solely on education?”