Seattle schools won't charge PTAs a fee on donations
A few days after Seattle Public Schools told parent groups they would be charged for giving money to schools, district officials said Monday that won't happen after all.
Seattle Times education reporter
A few days after Seattle Public Schools told parent groups they would be charged for giving money to schools, district officials said that won't happen after all.
In an e-mail sent Monday to PTA leaders, district officials said they have tabled a proposal to impose a 3.3 percent processing fee on some donations because it was "not a productive suggestion."
That decision came after PTA leaders at a number of schools reacted with anger and distress when they heard that an administrative charge would be assessed on many donations.
At Salmon Bay School, for example, the parent group is planning to give about $86,000 in the fall to help keep a school librarian for four days a week and to cover part of the costs of its middle-school music teacher, its physical-education teacher and two part-time volunteer coordinators.
The proposed fee would have added $2,800 to the total.
The fees would not have applied to all parent donations. PTAs still could have made donations without a charge but wouldn't have any guarantee in how those dollars were spent.
