The Fight Over PTA Fundraisers

Dana Goldstein of The New York Times looks at issues of equity when it comes to PTA fundraising, and how those dollars are being distributed and spent.

In a new report, the Center for American Progress finds that PTAs nationally raised close to $425 million in the 2013-14 academic year, but 50 particularly wealthy schools accounted for 10 percent of those dollars. Goldstein visited the Malibu-Santa Monica school district in Southern California, which pools most PTA donations so more dollars reach schools serving the neediest students. What’s behind the pushback to the program, which has been considered a national model for more equitable PTA fundraising? How is this local controversy reflective of a larger national debate about school funding? And how can reporters start digging into the finances of their local PTAs?