November teacher conference meal???

This is the first year my family is dealing with the school system here in Quakertown, so I don't know if this is the norm for them asking the parents of students to donate food to feed the school staff. They are asking for these donations because the teachers can not leave the school building for their lunch or dinner while they are doing back to back conference meetings. And sad to say....the items they suggest are better than my family gets to eat in a typical week! So my husband and I are wondering...why can't they pack lunches for those days like the rest of us? And don't they realize that pizza shops DO DELIVER???

Who plans these things and what nerve? Remember that 380% tax increase?

So Quakertown school district parents...what are your thoughts/feelings on this?

This event is organized by the parent-teacher organization parents who gladly work in a cooperative relationship with teachers who freely give of their time to wait tables at the spaghetti dinner for families and other events hosted by the pto. If you don't want to participate, don't.

Also, the huge tax increase was from Richland Township and had nothing to do with the school district. The folks behind that have equal disdain for the school district as you suggest here.

taxed to death wrote:

This is the first year my family is dealing with the school system here in Quakertown, so I don't know if this is the norm for them asking the parents of students to donate food to feed the school staff. They are asking for these donations because the teachers can not leave the school building for their lunch or dinner while they are doing back to back conference meetings. And sad to say....the items they suggest are better than my family gets to eat in a typical week! So my husband and I are wondering...why can't they pack lunches for those days like the rest of us? And don't they realize that pizza shops DO DELIVER???
Who plans these things and what nerve? Remember that 380% tax increase?
So Quakertown school district parents...what are your thoughts/feelings on this?

Simply put - They won't pack their lunch like the rest of us because of their sense of entitlement. They expect us to pay for their inflated salaries and benefits, and feed them too!In return, we get substandard performance... sounds fair, right?

There's been a groundswell of discontent with our school district for some time now. You're starting to see why - Keep digging.

taxed to death wrote:

This is the first year my family is dealing with the school system here in Quakertown, so I don't know if this is the norm for them asking the parents of students to donate food to feed the school staff. They are asking for these donations because the teachers can not leave the school building for their lunch or dinner while they are doing back to back conference meetings. And sad to say....the items they suggest are better than my family gets to eat in a typical week! So my husband and I are wondering...why can't they pack lunches for those days like the rest of us? And don't they realize that pizza shops DO DELIVER???
Who plans these things and what nerve? Remember that 380% tax increase?
So Quakertown school district parents...what are your thoughts/feelings on this?

Oh my goodness! This is a nice tradition that's been done for years, even in the days of low taxes. Are we going to penalize the teachers because of the chaos going on between the administration and school board? It's simple, if you don't want to send in a box of cookies, don't.

The Real QT Mom wrote:

<quoted text>
Oh my goodness! This is a nice tradition that's been done for years, even in the days of low taxes. Are we going to penalize the teachers because of the chaos going on between the administration and school board? It's simple, if you don't want to send in a box of cookies, don't.

I'm sorry, I must have missed that, I've been involved in the school district for 20 years, when did we have low taxes? Surely you jest?

Get Real QT Mom wrote:

<quoted text>
I'm sorry, I must have missed that, I've been involved in the school district for 20 years, when did we have low taxes? Surely you jest?

We had lower taxes before Richland started building.

Get Real QT Mom wrote:

<quoted text>
I'm sorry, I must have missed that, I've been involved in the school district for 20 years, when did we have low taxes? Surely you jest?

QCSD taxes were lower last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that, and so on for at least 25 more years. Taxes were raised when student population grew. Taxes were raised when student population dropped.

But the big school tax increases came when the children of the developments in Richland hit the schools and required new buildings and new teachers. The township banked the big money that came from development and Supervisor Orloff could get re-elected bragging about how he did not raise taxes while Richland's were static, because they were living off of the interest from CDs. Orloff's decisions will be hitting Richland citizens for years, while school taxes have leveled off.

Richland Resident wrote:

But the big school tax increases came when the children of the developments in Richland hit the schools and required new buildings and new teachers. The township banked the big money that came from development and Supervisor Orloff could get re-elected bragging about how he did not raise taxes while Richland's were static, because they were living off of the interest from CDs. Orloff's decisions will be hitting Richland citizens for years, while school taxes have leveled off.

Don't forget that Richland has a police force that is a severe drain on the budget. As long as there are cops there, they will continue to cost more and more! The worst decision orloaff has ever made!

taxed to death wrote:

This is the first year my family is dealing with the school system here in Quakertown, so I don't know if this is the norm for them asking the parents of students to donate food to feed the school staff. They are asking for these donations because the teachers can not leave the school building for their lunch or dinner while they are doing back to back conference meetings. And sad to say....the items they suggest are better than my family gets to eat in a typical week! So my husband and I are wondering...why can't they pack lunches for those days like the rest of us? And don't they realize that pizza shops DO DELIVER???
Who plans these things and what nerve? Remember that 380% tax increase?
So Quakertown school district parents...what are your thoughts/feelings on this?

I don't know what school you are referring to, but at Richland Elementary we do a teacher lunch. The TPO asks parent volunteers to bring in certain items for a luncheon on "one" of the three days that the teachers have parent conferences. This is done strictly on a volunteer basis, and if a parent doesn't want to participate then that is fine. This is just something that our TPO does every year to show the teachers how much we appreciate their time and dedication to our children. Our luncheon menu is the following: Soups, Salads, Breads, Dessert and beverages. I don't think that is an extravagant menu for a luncheon.
I'm sorry that you think the people that plan these things have "some nerve". I looked at the list of volunteers for our luncheon and it seems to be the same "active" parents that attend our TPO meetings and support the things that the TPO does for the school.
I suggest if you have a problem with your school doing this, then you should attend a TPO meeting and voice your concerns there.

Like the TPO's really care about other parent voices.

Flasher wrote:

Like the TPO's really care about other parent voices.

TPO stands for Teacher Parent Organization, which means both teachers and parents have a voice. Most TPOs see the same parents volunteering over and over and over again because there is so much apathy. It would be great to have more "parent voices" join these groups. Everybody brings something new and different to the table, so it's nice to see new faces. If you don't like what you see going on in your TPO, join and speak up. You may be surprised when your ideas are welcomed.

Flasher wrote:

Like the TPO's really care about other parent voices.

TPO's are "parents". Anyone who has a student at our school is automatically a member of the TPO. If they care to participate, that is their choice. We have montly meetings, where we update our parents on upcoming events at our school. We always welcome comments or suggestions on how to improve things at our school. I don't think the TPO should be represented as a negative thing on this forum. We try to do the best for our students and school. It sounds like the person who made the above comment had a bad experience with their TPO. I would hope it wasn't our school, and if it was, I would encourage you to contact the board with your concerns. I feel that TPO's are a positive thing for our schools. We try our best to help our students and teachers, and hopefully add a little extra "fun" to the school year.

When I was a kid it was the PTA, Parent Teacher Association. When did it change to TPO, Teacher Parent Organization?

I know this is semantics, but the teachers do not run the group so why did it switch to teachers first, parents (running the group) second?

P.S. Luncheon? Who cares? Doing something nice for the people who teach our children seems, to me, to be a lovely gesture. Participate or not, based on your own opinion of the activity.

taxed to death wrote:

This is the first year my family is dealing with the school system here in Quakertown, so I don't know if this is the norm for them asking the parents of students to donate food to feed the school staff. They are asking for these donations because the teachers can not leave the school building for their lunch or dinner while they are doing back to back conference meetings. And sad to say....the items they suggest are better than my family gets to eat in a typical week! So my husband and I are wondering...why can't they pack lunches for those days like the rest of us? And don't they realize that pizza shops DO DELIVER???
Who plans these things and what nerve? Remember that 380% tax increase?
So Quakertown school district parents...what are your thoughts/feelings on this?

what a classless town where someone would even bring this up...

The real link here is the fact that one important indicator of student performance is parental involvement in their education. Since the beginning of compulsory education, good parents have been involved in their child's school. PTA/PTO organizations have fostered this with a variety of activities. I would suggest that the "sub-standard" performance some are referring to is more a result of the parents and not the teachers. How can their children value education and an educational system while their parents sit at home complaining about it, writing about it online and not even willing to throw some food at a simple school event. If you can't afford salad or bread, cut your internet service.

Yeah Native, you are so right.

It's just a box of stinkin' cupcakes. Suck it up and spend a little time involving yourself in your kids lives.

Parent Teacher Associations were common locally until the 1960s, when the national organization required payments from the locals to use the name. The result was the name change since the local PTAs were really getting no benefit from the national organization.

PTA's, TPO's who cares what the names are... They are just puppets of the administration. The administration guides them on the wants and needs of the particular school.
The PTO's use the children as pawns for fundraisers, with the idea of the chance to win a prize. The PTO's know that many of the children live in the same area, so the chances of selling to neighbors is slim. Once again it is up to the child's family to buy, donate, whatever so the children can at least have a chance for the prize.(It's just a guilt trip for the family to buy or give money.)
The funny part is the PTO's claim that they raised xx amount of dollars for the school and can provide books, trips, etc for the students, when in most instances it would have been cheaper for parents to just buy the child the item.
Why should one cut their internet service if they can't afford to give food to a school event. Teachers in the district make more than the average income of the areas constituents. Can't they brown bag it? Better yet let the PTO's pay for it out of all the money they raise.
And contact the board or school officials... Yeah, right, they will just tell you to talk to the building administration. And then you get the speech about how they are just volunteers, etc.
I will admit that the district does have some teachers that go out of their way in working with students, pushing the students knowledge.

Most o the PTA's have the same old click of people who are stay at home moms .They make this their carreer. They become obsessed & only include certain people.That's why people dont join or give up on it.Bossy frompy matronly types who frown on young blood with new exciting ideas.