In New York City, a small number of PTAs --2.5% of all public schools in the city – raised almost half the money raised by all the PTAs across the entire city. Children from affluent families attend public schools where parents privately raise millions to ensure that their children get extra air conditioners, extra teachers, beekeeping programs, arts residencies, extra cafeteria aides, teachers with advanced training, and updated libraries.
One third of the schools in the city raised no private funds at all.
Wealthy parents across the country raise money for their own children's public schools, but the disparities in New York school fundraising (reflecting the city's broad disparities in wealth) are in a league of their own.
As elsewhere, NYC PTAs sometimes justify building these private slush funds by pointing to the supplemental funding for schools serving lower-income students. If some children get public money for tutors to bring them up to grade level or reading aides to help in crowded classrooms or free breakfast, how can anyone object to them raising money for science labs or music programs that others kids in the city can't access?
