We are going to take a very brief pause before finishing up the rest of the schools. This could easily take until the end of the year.
I have posted a redacted copy of a little email from the Deputy I received over Thanksgiving. I took my name off because I want you to focus on the other names on here. All I have been doing is turning in the public records I receive from them BACK to them with comments. Here is the cast of players-
Patty Reed-School Board
Dr. Lockard-The Deputy Superintendent
John Foster-the Division Counsel
Susan Quinn-Chief Operating Officer, FCPS
The School Board (Mrs. Reed and the others) has told these people to clean this mess up. You all created this mess. A lot of the mess is due to people completely ignoring what they were told to do and NOT do. Some of the mess is because the school system should never have gotten themselves into this situation in the first place, some is because people are being belligerent about the changes that the school system is trying to implement under the advice of their attorneys (in order to make them compliant with state and Federal laws as well as school regulations, which Mrs. Reed and the others expect/require them to follow), some of it should be basic common sense or should have been taught long ago in school or church or by their parents to a lot of people. I think Mr. Foster thinks it would be wonderful if everybody followed his advice and the advice of the outside law firm. Ms. Quinn and I had some tense conversations a while back in the Penthouse on Gatehouse about a Booster group and high school that were playing very dangerous games with public records and large public transactions. That situation could have easily cost the school system and the taxpayers six figures in legal bills and fines. She is in charge of Operations and what you are doing falls under her responsibility. You are all wasting a LOT of taxpayer dollars and putting private and funds at tremendous risk by NOT FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS.
A quick summary before we press on-
~501c4's cannot offer people the chance to deduct a donation to them on their taxes.
~Participation in fundraisers cannot be part of a child's grade. It shouldn't be required for a letter, either.
~All fundraisers are completely optional. That means OPTIONAL. You can't refuse a child the chance to go on Spring Trip or do anything else because they didn't participate in fundraisers. If you make the decision to direct fundraising dollars towards an activity, optional or otherwise, that is your problem.
~FCPS fees and all communications regarding them are supposed to be on FCPS letterhead.
~FCPS staff and property are not supposed to be used to help Boosters get money out of parents.
~You were given a template. It has a few problems, but is basically adequate. All you had to do was fill in the blanks. Some people took the liberty of changing it to something they liked better. Who did this? What right did you have to do this? That was a very bad idea. I am sure the FCPS legal team approved that template and wants it followed verbatim. Am I right, Mr. Foster?
~I was told pre-season was technically optional, was an FCPS-sponsored activity, and it was supposed to run through the school accounts. That is what the FAQ's say.
~I don't know what this "travel supplement" that a lot of people have but these trips are not Carnival cruises where you can take excursions. They are school trips, personal expenses like meals are supposed to be covered by the families, trip expenses are supposed to be itemized for the families and paid by them with a school fee, etc.
~I don't care where they are with the transition processes. All trips, spring and otherwise, need to run through the school accounts. Parents, you need to refuse to write those big checks to a volunteer group. RIGHT NOW. Their insurance coverage is very shaky, this isn't their problem, etc. It is already in the regulations and has been there for many, many years that trip money is supposed to run through school accounts. They have been wandering around with this for 3-4 years now. Just say NO. Don't come up with your own forms for these trips. Health, permission, etc. The school holds the liability for these. LET THEM HAVE IT. That is what we pay them to do. They have entire departments to analyze liability, contracts, etc. Don't sign anything committing public funds, Boosters. You don't have the right to do that.
~FCPS/School Board own the uniforms. Rental payments and uniform replacement accounts should also be with the school system, just like the instrument fees always have been. Has anybody ever rented an instrument from a Booster club? Don't think so. The uniforms aren't any different.
~The Fee Notice says only two percussion rental fees can be charged-one per semester. It doesn't say anything about a separate one for Marching Band.
~No child is to be excused from a class for a fundraiser. Extracurricular activities are not to interfere with curricular activities.
~Private lessons can't be required. I think it is probably considered inappropriate for a teacher to deny a child credit for private lessons because they take lessons from someone the teacher doesn't like. That can be called cronyism, steering contracts, conflict of interest, possible kickbacks, etc. Private lessons are an agreement between a parent and the private instructor.
~Volunteers are not supposed to have access to Student ID numbers. It is in the Guidelines.
~Late fees on school fees are not allowed. That is an unauthorized fee. And when the money goes into a Booster bank account, it makes for a nasty fundraiser for them. The school fees desperately need to get into school accounts. Parents-PAY YOUR BILLS ON TIME OR DON'T SIGN YOUR KIDS UP FOR STUFF. You are rude.
~Don't get all high and mighty because you have people pay dues to Booster clubs and then get snotty to other people who want to walk in the door at a concert. You are NOTHING. NOTHING. You are just a group of parents with a very inflated opinion of yourself. You are rude. Any school official who goes along with this should be counseled. These are public performances. This is a classroom setting. This is like only letting people who have donated to the PTA have a seat at back to school night, and making the others stand.
~You need to quit calling payments for goods and services donations/contributions/voluntary payments/requests/expectations/"shouldering your part of the Booster budget"/student dues and all the other ridiculous terms you are coming up with, and then funnel money through a Booster bank account instead of a school account. You are trying to circumvent the new policies and just being dangerous. Quit doing things like charging everybody $40 for Cavalier cards, telling them you know you can't do mandatory fundraising but are going to do it anyway because it is a "necessity" and you all will get your money back when you sell them. This is illegal. Bank robbers think robbing a bank is a "necessity", also. Quit calling payments for school and personal services "donations". They aren't donations. Figure out quid pro quo. It is a Federal law. Quit using the term "voluntary payment/commitment payment", with a due date, payable to the teacher, include things that are not consumables, and then try to weasel your way out of it. This could go on and on. FCPS fees are the ONLY thing that can be charged, collected, and go to collections if need be. Aside from if you are buying a tshirt or something from a Booster club, all payments to Booster clubs must be optional. And if some parent groups are totally over the top and want people to donate huge amounts of money, well that is their problem. Greed and inflated desires have taken a lot of people down. Don't let them bully you behind the scenes. You should not be writing $150+ checks to Booster clubs any more for things like camps, pre-season, travel supplements, etc. Those payments are public funds. Those transactions are public transactions. Because they are all for school-sponsored activities. In spite of the problems the school system has handling money, public records and accounts are a very valuable tool. Anybody can look at them, which can prevent and/or catch a lot of problems. Don't let a Booster club take away your rights. They are trying to portray a false sense of security. A Booster club bank account is NOT a secure place. Neither is a school account, but the insurance is a lot better, and the records are easily obtained. I have dealt with both systems. I know. When people don't want to share records with a person they have taken money from, it is usually NOT for a good reason. I was right. Numerous times.
*************Now we are going to have a chat about The Troll. Hundreds of you have managed to read all the information in spite of The Troll. The Troll is quite possibly a former Booster and quite possibly a former officer in my old Booster group. The one who created a real headache for the school system. Remember, the one who made access to public records a problem, set the school system up for six figures in legal bills, and played games with $100,000+ county transactions, then didn't treat families right? Yeh, THAT group. The Troll obviously has some major psychological issues. So do several other members of this Booster club. I am very familiar with their tactics. With his/her endless drivel and nonsensical posts, he/she is displaying exactly why you DON'T want to give money to Booster clubs, particularly large amounts.
Now we are going to give The Troll a change to display their mental illness, discouraging you from making donations to Booster clubs, before we move on to more reports..................
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