I as a citizen of this county am pulling all the syllabi, handbooks, financial obligation information for all the Band, Chorus, and Orchestra programs in the FCPS high schools via FOIA. Again. Guitar, I just haven't gotten around to you yet. Read and heed.

I have attached a copy of a draft of a lovely letter crafted by Dr. Garza explaining the new policies with music classes and their relationship with parent Booster clubs. It was supposedly being considered to send out to all the families and staff. I don't know if it made it or not.

I am also attaching several applicable regulations and a couple of pages from the brand-new School Finance Handbook. This is version 1.0 and it looks like there is an error here because these obviously apply to PTA/PTO and Booster groups but the wording is not consistent. Perhaps the next version will be corrected. I think they might have been in a hurry to get this out. I know this information has been communicated to the staff and Booster clubs as there has been some complaining about these issues.

As many of you know, the financial management of music programs in FCPS has undergone some enormous changes in the last couple of years. After extensive consultation with their legal teams, the practice of letting parents independently determine and assess fees for music classes was determined to not be compliant with the state laws. The practice of allowing parent groups manage what are school activity funds in their non-profit bank accounts (certain fees for classes, school trips, school uniform rental, other optional FCPS-sponsored activities) was also determined to not be consistent with appropriate business practice and state laws.

You all had meetings last winter explaining the changes. The FAQ's and Guidelines and a copy of the optional MOA are on the FCPS website, under Administration, then Financial Services, then Comptroller. There is also a template that can be used for sending out fee notices. I might post those later if needed. Otherwise, you can look them up. They were widely disseminated.

You all have had a lot of time to straighten this all out. There was a similar thread last year about this. This new thread is for school year 2014-15. This year names of programs and groups will be presented, along with the documents I receive. Please note that I do my evaluations based on what I receive from the DCCO. They contact the schools to get the information requested. If the schools provide the wrong information, then I will never know the difference. I am strictly a volunteer. I can do this if I want. These are all public records and subject to public discussion. I also am not privy to any discussions you might have had recently. I am evaluating these based on the current published school policies and applicable state and Federal laws as an ordinary citizen would interpret them. I am certainly not an expert at this. However, sometimes common sense trumps advanced education.

Booster clubs and staff are required to follow all applicable school regulations, state, and Federal laws. Staff hold professional licenses and this is one of the requirements of your licenses. Failure to comply can result in suspension of your license. If Booster clubs fail to comply with certain laws you can lose your non-profit status or be subject to a lot of legal problems. If anybody is unhappy about the changes then you need to take it up with Dr. Garza and the legal and business teams or contact your state or Federal legislators.

I know you all work hard and want the best for the children, but you are limited as to what you can do to the children and the families in order to accomplish your dreams. Sometimes you have to adjust your dreams to a more realistic goal. That's life. Particularly during rough economic times. Many families in this area have experienced recent job losses, salary cuts, etc. Fairfax County is not immune to these types of problems.

I am going to next post some generalizations that I have seen in reviewing half of the reports. I will then proceed to post individual programs and discuss what I am seeing. This could take several weeks as this is an enormous amount of material.

Overcoming years of neglect, sloppy practices, and basically ignoring school policies is going to be very difficult. These look quite a bit better this year, but there is still a long way to go with this.
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Don't worry about music classes. The GOP is in power and will slashing gov programs soon. That will result in music and after school FCPS activities cancelled. You're wasting your until 2016.

Sometimes you have to adjust your dreams to a more realistic goal.

Translation: Scale back your programs. Stop attempting to achieve excellence. Don't try to compete with schools in other counties or states. Let other music programs in other jurisdictions pass you by.

That is exactly what is happening with the band programs in FCPS. It will be slow - not overnight. But in 5 years the band programs in FCPS will not be anywhere near what they are now.

"But in 5 years the band programs in FCPS will not be anywhere near what they are now.?

Is that a bad thing?

To put it another way, in an area where there are so many opportunities for serious musicians, should the schools be trying to produce top notch school bands? Or should they be simply trying to expose as many kids as possible to music so they can pursue more serious options if they choose?

I am strongly in favor of music and arts programs in the schools. Whether that is carried to higher levels, and if so which, should be something that is decided by the students on a year by year basis, based on interest, talent and participation. If kids want to be in a marching band that performs at halftime of football games, then fine. If kids want to kick it up and have a competition grade marching band, then fine. If kids instead would prefer to provide musical accompaniment to drama productions or chorus productions, that should be fine as well. And the decision should not be forced on students by either school or county administrators or by band boosters.

Generalizations on what I am seeing-

I was not involved in the discussions about Individual Fundraising Accounts. Apparently a decision was made to tell Booster clubs to quit doing them. Now. That seems to be compliant with what I have seen in the general literature. I presume the school is not doing them with school fundraisers. I am still seeing references to IFA's. I noticed that some groups instead of doing IFA's have resorted to passing out gift cards to students who participate in fundraisers which results in them benefitting personally from these fundraisers. Could somebody explain to me why if IFA's are banned, this is an appropriate thing to do? Fundraisers are supposed to benefit all students equally whether they participate in the fundraiser or not (School Finance Handbook). There is not one price for a school trip for those who participate in a fundraisers and one price for those who don't. The price is the price.

All fundraising is completely optional in FCPS. This is public school. See Dr. Garza's draft. Reg 1370-Participation in fundraising cannot be used as an academic indicator. Students are not to be pulled out of classes for fundraisers. Any revenue of parent groups involving students or property, even for activities sponsored by parent groups, is required to be recorded in the school activity fund records (this is new, reg 5810 page 9).

All curricular concerts were determined to be events where admission cannot be charged. They might slap a fancy name on the December concert, for example, but it is probably just the standard winter concert performance. Curricular. Any other events using students where a fee is paid for admission are supposed to use serially numbered tickets and the funds are supposed to be turned in to the school (reg 5812). Remember, the 5810 also requires the money to be recorded in the school activity funds. I think the 1370 needs to be revised. That is not current and clear.

I am seeing conflicts with the Tiny Tots concerts, for example. They are held during the school day as well as in the evening. The money for at least some of these is going to private corporations (Booster clubs). I have formally asked the School Board auditor for an explanation as to why students are being pulled out of class to raise money for private corporations. If these are curricular concerts, as some of them indicate, admission cannot be charged. I also see conflicts with the marching band competitions that are held in this area (students are used to generate revenue), evening concerts like special Broadway and jazz nights, car washes, student garage sales, TAG days, etc.. I have no idea where some of this is going. It clearly appears that all these types of revenue should run through a school account and I know a lot of it is going to the non-profits. This has also been brought to the attention of the School Board auditor and the School Board.

There is a lot of use of the words requested, expected, etc. Looking up the definitions in various dictionaries and looking at this usage in the context of a teacher expecting or requesting a student or family do something, I do not interpret these words as "optional" at all. I brought this issue up last year. I am seeing a lot of use of these words, with a "mandatory" version later on in the publications. These are not clear terms. They are very vague. I consider them a huffy way of indirectly insinuating that something is really mandatory. Get the terms straight.

Volunteers are not allowed to have access to student ID numbers, including volunteers who sign the MOA. So, how is a portion of it being used to set up CHARMS accounts and why?

I am not happy with the way FARM is being handled. The idea of a teacher telling a volunteer to mark somebody paid in full who has NOT paid in full because they are legally entitled to a discounted fee makes no sense to me from either a financial or privacy standpoint. I called down to the Dept. of Education in Richmond last year, spoke to the woman in charge of the program, and the form that you sign to allow release of your status to school staff in order to obtain discounts on class fees, etc. applies to school staff only. Volunteers are considered school officials under FERPA so that they can help school staff with other things. The form you sign does NOT give permission for volunteers to know your FARM status. This is to protect your privacy, rights, and dignity. If you feel you are being violated the number to call is 1-804-225-2074.

Bills for school-sponsored activities and classes are supposed to be presented on school letterhead. Staff and school property are not supposed to be used to help Boosters with their financial aspirations. So, it would appear that the communications are to be kept separate. Boosters are not supposed to be presenting FCPS bills on their forms. I have already found one case of this.

Pre-season marching camps, both at school and away, are school-sponsored activities, which means that the fees are supposed to run through school accounts. I am seeing a lot of these running through Booster accounts. They are also technically optional, and are supposed to be calculated out separated from the other marching fees. If you are not charging for these camps, and Boosters are trying to pay for these out of various and assorted ways (like asking parents to contribute or donate), you are shortchanging yourselves. Parents don't have to donate for anything. They do have to pay fees, and those are actual cost, which further protects the parents. And if they donate for these, they should not be writing the payments off on their taxes, as they have received services in exchange for their donations. Same with pre-season trips, like Orkney and West Virginia. I would assume overnight assessment trips should be priced out separately and are school-sponsored trips and need to be run through school accounts. I am seeing a lot of usage of the term travel supplement. Retire it. It is an FCPS trip fee.

I see many groups talking about doing fundraisers for spring trips and things, with the correct idea of spreading the money equally among the participants and helping more kids to go on the trips. I personally think you are knocking yourselves out for nothing here. These trips are completely optional. They are a luxury. If you raise $3750 to help out 150 kids, that is a whopping $25 a child. That is a drop in the bucket on a $700 trip. Make them pay their own way. Take the $3750 and buy some instruments or music or additional instructors. You are suckers for punishment.

I am seeing some situations where a uniform rental fee is not being clearly charged. This is a fabulous way to generate funds to replace the uniforms. Use it. The uniforms are school property, just like the instruments. Take the rental fee and establish a Uniform Reserve Fund in a school account. One less thing for Boosters to worry about. It is right in the template.

There are also very clear provisions for the needy in the fee notice that was updated this year. This is not a Booster problem. This is a school system problem and they need to deal with these kids. There is something in the guidelines about how Boosters can still help the needy but can't give funds to the school earmarked for a particular student. I haven't figured out how this works. I don't know if these are put in an account for the staff to decide or what. Many of the clubs and syllabi are saying kids have to help fundraise if they receive assistance from Boosters, so I am not following the privacy issues and money chain. Children who receive assistance directly from the school system because they qualify under the fee notice are not allowed to be singled out and told to do fundraising. That is a state law. The optional trips are not eligible for discounts under the fee notice. Know your rights.

It is imperative that school activity funds run through a school account as we took a look at Booster insurance policies last year and found that the two major insurers have exclusions in their officer liability policies for either management of government funds (which these are) or for problems resulting from agreements made with Superintendents, school systems, principals, etc. There are also limits on coverage for loss which could leave you in the position of not having enough coverage for a major loss. Some companies do not want to cover government funds for loss if they are in the care of a Booster club. Some Booster clubs were not insured, were underinsured, or not doing the things that are required to maintain their policies, like monitoring bank statements and doing annual reviews or audits. It is in the best interest of the Booster officers and the parents to run money for school-sponsored things through a school account and not play games with donating, contributing, and all the other ridiculous terms I am seeing used to convince parents to turn this money over to a Booster club and give away their rights. If you write a check to the school system and it disappears, you will get your money back very easily. Not so easy with a Booster club. Keep very careful records. The school records are completely open and easily accessible, including redacted student payment spreadsheets, receipts, and all accounting data. Booster records are not necessarily open to that extent. I found out the hard way and got burned. Trust me. You have rights as citizens of this county and state. USE THEM.

On to specifics....

Quit whining. Booster clubs also never really had the right to collect the stuff they were asking for. They were looking at wearing orange jumpsuits. Lot of good you are doing for your kids if you are in jail because you demanded or coerced money from somebody that you weren't entitled to, got it, took it, and didn't want to give it back or couldn't give it back. All because you wanted some over-the-top music program. Wake up.

The school system has the right to collect and set limits like no prom, no parking pass, no locker, no spring trip etc. for people who refuse to pay fees. They can't withhold diplomas, but they have some clout you never had.

Centreville is going first. Later on...

Centreville HS Orchestra is first. This is important. I am not trying to be mean. This is all public record. About 20 years ago somebody in this group set them up as a 501c4, NOT a 501c3. I figured this out last year, I simply could not believe it and obtained the original documents from the IRS, as any citizen can do. It took months, but it showed up. I am posting the original letter.

What this means, and this is very important, is that anybody who donates money to this group CANNOT take a tax deduction on it. The IRS was very clear about this in the original letter, even clearly recommended that this group consider 501c3 status. Depending on your gross receipts and some other things you may or may not be obligated to inform people who donate to you of this. But, they are still not entitled to take a tax write-off. I personally think it is only fair to make it very clear to businesses and individuals who are donating to your organization what the terms are. I called this morning at 8am and you are still registered as a 501c4 with the IRS. Are you doing the correct tax return? They have you as doing the e-postcard. You were running school trips and some other things through your account in previous years.

Nice job putting out the FCPS fees. You made mention that the SOPA dues were optional, but told everybody to make out a check and bring it to the meeting. That is IF they choose to donate.

You mention trip fundraisers lowering the cost. IFA's have been banned. Not sure how you are setting this up.

Remember that all fundraisers are optional. How is TAG day being handled this year in view of the IRS status?

As a former violinist, I wish you the best of years. Those were some of the best memories of my childhood.
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Bill.N. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "But in 5 years the band programs in FCPS will not
> be anywhere near what they are now.?
>
> Is that a bad thing?
>
> To put it another way, in an area where there are
> so many opportunities for serious musicians,
> should the schools be trying to produce top notch
> school bands? Or should they be simply trying to
> expose as many kids as possible to music so they
> can pursue more serious options if they choose?
>
> I am strongly in favor of music and arts programs
> in the schools. Whether that is carried to higher
> levels, and if so which, should be something that
> is decided by the students on a year by year
> basis, based on interest, talent and
> participation. If kids want to be in a marching
> band that performs at halftime of football games,
> then fine. If kids want to kick it up and have a
> competition grade marching band, then fine. If
> kids instead would prefer to provide musical
> accompaniment to drama productions or chorus
> productions, that should be fine as well. And the
> decision should not be forced on students by
> either school or county administrators or by band
> boosters.


Marching Band is part of the curriculum. Competitions are part of their training and their coursework, as are the football performances.

Bands and orchestras for musicals and things are optional activities.

The fee structure is there to set some type of limits so that the programs do not become inappropriately excessive, and thus more affordable to more students. They are set at consumables and at cost by state law. The needy get discounted fees. This is public school. The extras can be determined by the amount of money you are able to obtain from donations. Some years might be better than others. I will be posting the appropriated funds allocated to each group in a later post. I have not received those yet. These are wonderful. Thank you Fairfax County taxpayers.

Fundraisers are optional. That includes TAG day and anything else that might be in bold that is a fundraiser. You say participation is graded. You are not allowed to tie academic indicators to participation in fundraisers. You can't have people sign a contract for a course and include mandatory fundraising participation.

No IFA's are allowed.

I have been a singer for 45 years and I wish you the best of years.
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I was presented with a Band Handbook from the DCCO. I also found a publication from May of 2014 on their website.

They are very different. The May publication has payments going to both the School and the Boosters. It says more information is coming. The Handbook has all the money going to the Boosters. $335 to Boosters for Marching Band and regular Band. It is NOT marked as optional. I am letting Gatehouse figure this out. I do not have access to CHARMS, etc. Parents, DO NOT pay this type of money for these types of expenditures to a Booster club under any circumstances. Do NOT give them any money for a spring trip. It MUST run through the school system. And that includes deposits.

All I know is what I am given from DCCO. Which is what the schools give them. I should be getting accurate information. If I am not, that is your problem.

Summer band camp is technically optional and should be priced out separately.

TAG day and all fundraisers are optional. Volunteering is technically optional. We all know you need the money and the volunteers. I am just pointing this out.

Who all has access to FCPS student ID's?
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Hot off the DCCO press. The appropriated funds for this school year. Thank you Fairfax County taxpayers.
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senza sord Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Volunteers are not allowed to have access to
> student ID numbers, including volunteers who sign
> the MOA. So, how is a portion of it being used to
> set up CHARMS accounts and why?


"[volunteers] are considered to be 'school officials'"

"FCPS may allow [volunteers] to access personally-identifiable student information and records"

readthemoa Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> senza sord Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Volunteers are not allowed to have access to
> > student ID numbers, including volunteers who
> sign
> > the MOA. So, how is a portion of it being used
> to
> > set up CHARMS accounts and why?
>
>
> "[volunteers] are considered to be 'school
> officials'"
>
> "FCPS may allow [volunteers] to access
> personally-identifiable student information and
> records"


I read the MOA. And I called Richmond last year. The form the FARM kids parents sign authorizes the release of their FARM status to school staff. The lady I talked with said that did not transfer to volunteers. They had to have specific permission to allow volunteers to have this type of information. The volunteers are school officials under FERPA so that they can assist the schools.

All I know is what the director of the program in Richmond told me. I read her a copy of the form verbatim. We discussed FERPA. She said FARM was different. I am not calling her again.

I pointed this out to Gatehouse last year.

I spoke directly with Catherine Digilio Grimes. The director. I was very specific. So was she.

Boosters and volunteers are outside parties. Staff is not authorized to release this FARM information without parent permission to Boosters or volunteers.

She said she thought some schools might be letting volunteers have access, but there had to be a specific permission form signed by the parents to allow volunteers to have access to this information. This is a different class of information than standard FERPA material. There is also another number to call for problems. I talked with the director at the 804 number.

They are so strict on this because it is horrible to have your peers find out that you are on public assistance. No kidding.

Maybe she changed her mind, but she was very firm about this.
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......and here is the Student ID information. The MOA refers to the guidelines. It is in the guidelines. No student ID's to volunteers helping out the schools with this. We talked about this extensively when I was meeting with Gatehouse officials. There were numerous instances of this. There still are. They were even having people write the number on checks. No can do.
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Just a factoid for you...

When you say "you all had meetings about this last year", you are not entirely correct. What I think you aren't very clear on is that when these changes were getting hashed out, the folks in Central decided to focus everything just on Band to start with. So 90% of the discussion and 'meetings' have been with Band directors and Band boosters. They did not/have not happened in any consistent way with Orchestra, Chorus, or anyone else. Any info those teachers and boosters know of is simply word of mouth.

So - when you post the Orchestra and Chorus syllabi, etc for all the programs and pick them apart to evaluate them, be clear that these teachers were not the ones that the county folks had focused on - and may not be as up to date on these issues as the Band directors are.

You know what's funny about those Consent to Share forms parents sign to release the information about FARM?

- Music teachers are not supposed to know who is on FARM unless those forms have been signed an turned in

- Guess who my school has hand the forms out? The teachers. So, the teacher has to know who is on FARM in order to give them out to the right people, so that the parents can sign it, giving the teacher permission to know that they are on FARM.

Awesome system, huh?

just fyi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just a factoid for you...
>
> When you say "you all had meetings about this last
> year", you are not entirely correct. What I think
> you aren't very clear on is that when these
> changes were getting hashed out, the folks in
> Central decided to focus everything just on Band
> to start with. So 90% of the discussion and
> 'meetings' have been with Band directors and Band
> boosters. They did not/have not happened in any
> consistent way with Orchestra, Chorus, or anyone
> else. Any info those teachers and boosters know
> of is simply word of mouth.
>
> So - when you post the Orchestra and Chorus
> syllabi, etc for all the programs and pick them
> apart to evaluate them, be clear that these
> teachers were not the ones that the county folks
> had focused on - and may not be as up to date on
> these issues as the Band directors are.

I figured that. However, the school regulations and state laws and everything still apply. They always did. They have been mucking around with this long enough. Time's up. Parents and students have rights. And I am telling them what they are right here right now. This has gone on long enough.

I am probably not 100%, but I am probably pretty darn close. If you read the regulations , it is all there. Their legal people told them to move school activity funds over to school accounts. They should not be stalling on this. They started this four years ago when I first pointed out there was a big problem. Get the lead out. Chorus and orchestra school activity funds aren't any different than band school activity funds.

If they have the money and time to go out to dinner at Morton's with the HSPA and go golfing on the public dollar and check into the Annapolis Westin, I have no sympathy. You shouldn't either. I was told over and over that the finance tech contract was extended into summer to help with some of this. I saw it on the final budget. That was two years ago.

>
> If they have the money and time to go out to
> dinner at Morton's with the HSPA and go golfing on
> the public dollar and check into the Annapolis
> Westin, I have no sympathy. You shouldn't either.

Are you implying that music staff are doing this? You need to be clear on who you are talking about.

What about the PTSA's and PTO's? How are they different than booster organizations?

tJunN Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > If they have the money and time to go out to
> > dinner at Morton's with the HSPA and go golfing
> on
> > the public dollar and check into the Annapolis
> > Westin, I have no sympathy. You shouldn't
> either.
>
> Are you implying that music staff are doing this?
> You need to be clear on who you are talking about.


The people who are supposed to be instituting, communicating, and enforcing all these changes. The people in charge of the schools.

ptsapto Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What about the PTSA's and PTO's? How are they
> different than booster organizations?

I don't think there is a big difference. They are independent non-profits. The PTA's are on a national charter of some type. They both have their own bank accounts. All the groups have to follow the fundraising guidelines, etc.

Now it is time for Westfield Band. Some history here. Last year they had the school fees and $230 of "development" charges payable to the Boosters on the same form. A Booster form. I reported this in September and it took months of arguing to get this straightened out. I am attaching the letter that had to be sent to all the families clarifying this and offering refunds. You are talking tens of thousands of dollars on the line here. There was an issue with this the year before that with another school. That also took six months to straighten out. So, that should have been a big wakeup call to notify these parent groups not to do this. It obviously wasn't.

It was made very clear that school fees are supposed to be on FCPS letterhead.This was in the FAQ's and further clarified when McLean specifically asked this question. They said NO to Boosters putting out the bills. So, here we have a Booster Club registration form in the syllabus (remember, school staff and property are not supposed to be used to help Boosters collect funds that they want), they are asking for the Student ID (a no no in the guidelines), and the Booster requests are right with the FCPS fees. Again. The Booster requests are presented as optional. I am running out of patience.

I don't see a breakout for pre-season camp. I don't see a specific breakout for uniform replacement. You guys are shooting yourselves in the feet. Take the fees, folks. Use them. They are a very powerful financial weapon to support these programs.

Fundraising is optional. You don't have to sell mattresses, etc., even if you want to go to the Rose Bowl. It's nice if you can do this, but it is optional.

I hope you had a great time, by the way. I am sure that was an incredible experience.
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Westfield Chorus.

My yellow marker starting acting up so I couldn't highlight everything.

Tag Day is optional.
Who all gets the student ID numbers?
This program gets appropriated funds to help with transportation. You can certainly charge for accompanists, uniforms, and some other things in an FCPS fee. Take advantage of it.
IFA's are banned.

FARM kids do NOT have to do any fundraising to help cover the class fee if it is paid to the school system. They have entitlements under the Fee Notice and no strings are attached. They should no longer have an IFA anyway.
The class fee money is going to the Choral Boosters. It should go to the school. It has to be optional if the Choral Boosters charge it. Boosters are not authorized to independently determine, assess, and collect a fee for a class. That is state law.

Parents, you have to the right to pay the course fee to the school system, have complete access to the records, etc. DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, write checks to the Booster club for your Spring Trip. It is just too much money, the school system is supposed to be processing school trips, the principal is supposed to be signing all contracts and checks for those. Officers, DO NOT contract for any services for these trips. That is not in your job description. Those trips are a public transaction that falls under FCPS.
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This is very sketchy information. I do not have access to CHARMS to see where things are going.

Uniforms are owned by FCPS. Any rental fee should be run through the school system. You are renting public property.

Do NOT, under any circumstances, write any checks to your Booster club for your Spring Trip. Write them to the school.

Remember that fundraisers are optional.
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senza sord Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Marching Band is part of the curriculum.
> Competitions are part of their training and their
> coursework, as are the football performances.
>
> Bands and orchestras for musicals and things are
> optional activities.

I wasn't addressing your post, but rather was responding to a comment made in response to your post. Since you chose to challenge my position, I will do the same.

Your argument is circular. Marching band and marching band competitions are part of the curriculum and musicals are not because that is how school administrators decided it would be. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. It wasn't that long ago when marching band was, like football, considered to be an optional extracurricular activity. When I was in school it was considered normal for the band to perform in drama musicals.

Once you accept that having competition grade marching bands, or marching bands in general, is a choice, the next question is IS IT THE RIGHT CHOICE? That is what I was driving at in my post.

Bill N. I have seen a lot of your posts and you seem very level-headed. A rare find in NOVA. Marching Band is currently curricular. I am just going to leave it at that.

Now are going to look at Madison Band.

The Boosters have been quite a challenge. Two years ago I caught them sending everybody a bill for $250 and they said pay it or fundraise it. It took six months to straighten that out and it took a lot of arguing with Gatehouse. The letter is attached. The Boosters immediately turned around and said they needed $200 to pay for pre-season and some school-sponsored travel last year. They flat out said that it was tax-deductible because the money was being paid to a 501c3. It took six months to straighten that out, and it took a lot of arguing with Gatehouse. I kept mentioning tax fraud being encouraged on bills for school-sponsored services. Over and over and over. The letter is attached.

This year, I was told that there wasn't a syllabus. I insisted there probably was and enlisted the Deputy along with DCCO. There was a syllabus. I will post that separately as I forgot to save it and I don't want to lose this accidentally.

I am posting the financial information I received. I can't tell if this is on school letterhead or not. The same logo is used for the school fee information (of which there are two different sets) as well as the Booster donation request form. They are supposed to be kept separate. This year I am counting at least half a dozen requests for $500 from each and every student because it costs $1300 per student to be in Band. Yes, $1300. Is that with or without the optional trips, folks? The $500 is supposed to help fund pre-season and some travel. Pre-season and travel are both school-sponsored and those are supposed to run through a school account with at cost terms, which are supposed to be presented to the parents. They should be separate. They say to consult with your tax advisor. Kind of hard to do when people haven't been given a specific breakdown of what is goods and services received and what is donation (they are required to do this). Were they going to be given this?

The $1300 comes across as an grossly inflated unsubstantiated amount used to try and pressure parents to write a $500 check. Per student.

Excess FCPS fees are supposed to be returned to families, NOT scooped into a Uniform Reserve Fund. That was specifically addressed in the FAQ's. You can have a specific amount charged for uniform rental and use that to establish the uniform fund with the school.

I can't figure out how the travel is working for Grand Nationals. That is a school-sponsored trip and the contracts and finances are supposed to run through the school system. Period. End of discussion on that.

All fundraisers are optional.

I have the School Board Auditor and the School Board working on Tiny Tots concerts issues with this school and some others. No fundraisers are allowed during the school day. Curricular concerts are not be used as fundraisers. Any revenue generated by a Booster sponsored activity which involves use of students and school property is to have the money in the school accounts. Is this an actual Booster sponsored activity? Students, staff, and property are used. There are also supposed to be serially numbered tickets for these concerts. I know these are cute and everything but this just never stops when you start pulling kids out of classes to raise funds, and for a non-profit corporation to boot if that is what they are doing, which I think they are.

Whatever you do, DO NOT write checks to the Boosters for your spring trip. Give me a break.
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The Madison Band syllabus.
Ok I think I am going to take a break. More stuff coming.
This is going to take weeks. I am going to analyze all 75 of them.
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"This could take several weeks as this is an enormous amount of material."

Where do I apply for a refund of my Fairfax County tax dollars that have been spent compiling all of this?

refundplease Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "This could take several weeks as this is an
> enormous amount of material."
>
> Where do I apply for a refund of my Fairfax County
> tax dollars that have been spent compiling all of
> this?


It's a state law, they have to provide these upon request, I have paid my FOIA fees. If you don't like FOIA, take it up with your legislator. It is the law of the land. Good night.

If you don't like your tax dollars being used for FOIA, contact Jim LeMunyon. DelJLeMunyon@house.virginia.gov. Let me know what he says. He knows who I am, that's for sure.

Still want to talk about FOIA and taxes, etc.?

Try Barbara Comstock. I don't know her views, but her husband works for the school system and I spent hours with him in a front office going over public records.

Linda Smyth is also familiar with why this situation had to be addressed. If you call her, tell her hello for me.

And, look what Jim LeMunyon has been up to. FOIA is one of his projects.

Go ahead! Complain! Please!
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Let's do a couple more. Madison Choir.
As of last year all this was running through the school.

Students are not making a "contribution" for their class. They are paying an FCPS fee for consumables. I know the choir and orchestra people didn't get the Big Brief. There isn't any separate uniform fee, but there certainly could be if FCPS is providing dresses, cummerbunds, and tux jackets. Charge your full fees. You have a right to do that. Most of the people at Madison can well afford to pay a full fee.

What do you mean by "incentives" for students who fundraise? And what do you mean by parents can "elect" to give a donation in lieu of participating in fundraising? Are they given one choice or the other and told to produce, as in sell X number of apple pies or write a check? Fundraising is optional. The money goes into the General fund to be used equally for all the students. You are not allowed to tie fundraising to academic indicators. There aren't any IFA's any more. So, WHAT ARE THE INCENTIVES?
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Oh dear. Madison Orchestra.

Students provide their own uniforms, so no uniform fees are needed.
There aren't supposed to be any more IFA's.
Students DO NOT have to "bear their proportional share" in the Orchestra Parent Association General Budget and a teacher is not supposed to be telling them this either. It looks like whether you fundraise/contribute or not is tied in with the Spring Trip payments.

I love the Black Box, although it looks like things are still really messed up because you are telling them that they are to bear their proportional share of the Orchestra Parent Association General Budget or fundraise or maybe something happens with the Spring Trip payments.(?) It shouldn't make any difference.

Students are supposed to pay an FCPS course fee for consumables and the money should run through a school account. This program also receives appropriated funds for travel and assessments. Students should make Spring Trip payments to the school. The Orchestra Parents Association budget is THEIR problem.

Parents, whatever you do, DO NOT write any checks to this Booster club for your Spring Trip. Those are supposed to run through a school account. Those are public transactions. Officers, you are not authorized to sign contracts for public transactions. Don't sign anything for the Spring Trip. You are not authorized to commit public funds.
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Moving over to Herndon Choir.

All fundraisers are optional.
Course fees should be labeled as FCPS course fees and run through the school.
Nice job with donation page, except that donation checks to a Booster club probably should not go through the teacher.
Another problem is with Cabaret Night and giving tickets to people who make donations to the Booster club. All performances with an admission fee involving students are supposed to use serially numbered tickets and the funds are supposed to run through a school account. So, how and why is a Booster club able to offer tickets as a condition of a donation to their corporation? Are they purchasing these? I think people are supposed to subtract out the cost of the tickets when they take their tax write-off.

If they go on any school trips, DO NOT write any checks to the Boosters. Those are supposed to run through the school.
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Still want to gripe about FOIA?

Here are two more options for you. If you call VCOG, say hello to Megan for me.

If you will excuse me I am going to go fly the flag, go to work, and then go out for a free dinner on this wonderful Veteran's Day. It is one of my favorite days of the year.
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OK folks, gather 'round. Print up a copy of this report. We are going to have a chat about why the Booster clubs need to get out of the business of handling school trip money (and other public funds) in their bank accounts IMMEDIATELY. Not next year. Not two years from now. NOW. The school system has been stalling way too long on this. The Chorus and Orchestra programs are being left in the lurch right now. Some of the Band programs are still playing games with the money.

Print up a copy and follow along.

This trip was in April of 2012. I obtained accounting data in March, sounded the alarm as it looked like dozens of kids still weren't paid up. Everybody was allowed to travel whether they paid or not. Don't let people do this.

I pulled more records. I kept asking questions. I was told after the trip that everything was fine, the trip was shut down, the books were closed up. All I did was calculate out how many kids traveled, multiplied it by the cost of the trip, and point out that the numbers didn't jive. I talked it over with the front office, we factored in three families who made partial payments and then backed out. NO STAFF MEMBER CHECKED WITH THE PARENTS, THE SCHOOL PAID FOR THEIR TRIPS, THE PARENTS REFUSED TO MAKE ANY MORE PAYMENTS, AND WE ALL GOT TAKEN TO THE CLEANERS. Even factoring that in, the numbers did not match up. I persisted. I insisted. I basically screamed bloody murder.

The money for this trip was running through a school bank account. The payments were being kept track of on a Booster computer by a volunteer. We obtained a copy of another spreadsheet after the trip had been shut down. The thing never made it to the file folder in the front office. I don't think anybody responsible even looked at it. There were numerous errors, people under and over paid, math errors, etc.

One of the school officials spent many, many long hours going through all the deposit receipts, etc. to completely recreate this spreadsheet. I saw a bill for $1000 of bank records. The citizens of the county paid for that. They finally stopped that due to the cost.

To quickly summarize this, I compared the two heavily redacted spreadsheets, and due to certain very unusual amounts, was able to match up most of the payment problems on the two spreadsheets. There were several large payments recorded on the first sheet that did not show up on the second, the one you are looking at right now. It made certain people look like they were paid in full when they weren't. I think you know what that means.

First of all, I was told the Boosters took it upon themselves to threaten one of the families who backed out, and they coughed up the rest of the money. They didn't have the right to do that. They are volunteers. This was a school-sponsored trip. Unfortunately, since the school staff were remiss in not talking to the PARENTS before paying for the trip, and the family was threatened by a bunch of volunteers, a very large check was politely written to them as arrangements could have been made with the travel agency if somebody had been paying attention to the deadlines. The other two just walked away from their $50 deposit and left us in the lurch. This is why you want very large deposits. This is why the terms need to be presented up front. This is why you need you make sure BEFORE you pay for somebody's trip that they are really traveling. Look at the number of people who ignored the payment due dates and came wandering in at the last minute with the money. Get a huge deposit.

One of the school officials had to call dozens of families asking for them to pay up, or confirming overpayments and offering refunds. The little $8 ones are not the issue. There were several families who owed large amounts-
$220, $218, $184, $168, $400, $500, $200, $206, etc. Most of them paid up real quick. Yeh. The $500 family worked out a payment plan. The schools are not supposed to float loans to people! They had to make an exception because they messed up. There were several families who were owed large refunds-$50, $50, $100, $218, $84, $50, $200, $218, $50, $64, $97, $50, $206, $100, etc. They were all paid back by the school system. I fought, kicked, and screamed for you people, and in return for that I have been called an effing bitch and a whole host of other names. Apparently I am the "laughingstock of Fairfax County". You are very welcome. I hope you enjoyed receiving your checks. And I am very glad that you people who can't keep track of your bills and try and stick it to the other parents had your butts kicked.

Stuff like this has probably been going on for years.

The liability with these trips is huge. This is one of the reasons why you are now entering information into the cloud owned by the school system. This is one of the reasons you are not allowed to write checks for public funds any more. THIS IS WHY PARENTS NEED TO REFUSE TO WRITE CHECKS TO A BOOSTER CLUB FOR TRIPS (or class fees). IMMEDIATELY. These types of records are now available via FOIA (I finally got that straight), but the financial issues and liability for the money are with the Boosters. The school system might not be allowed to help and might not help with paying people back if Boosters screw up or the money disappears. They delegated their work to volunteers, so they should retain the liability. But, the money is not in their bank account. This is a mess. You have public records in garages and attics and basements all over Fairfax County right now. THEY SHOULD BE IN A SCHOOL COMPUTER SYSTEM.

Remember the MOU? That was nothing more than a gussied up attempt to transfer the liability from the school system to the Boosters. Remember the part about how the school system expected any "lost" funds to be returned? That meant that the officers were going to have to figure out a solution if something major or minor happened. I read through that thing in front of the Deputy and that was the first thing I pointed out. It took me all of ten seconds to see through that. The school system is supposed to retain the responsibility for anything they delegate to a volunteer. They were trying to walk away from that with a signed agreement. Remember the insurance issues I brought up earlier? This was going to be an agreement with a SCHOOL SYSTEM to manage GOVERNMENT FUNDS. Many of you could have been totally screwed if anything happened. I fought, kicked, and screamed for you on that issue, also. I was the one who pulled up the insurance policies, etc. You were also being told to plan on purchasing insurance for that money, but we already pay to insure that money via our taxes. It just has to be in the right bank account. They were trying to use you. They love you guys but that is some kind of love.

This is also why you do NOT want to try to circumvent the safety net of having public funds go straight into a school account by Boosters collecting the money from parents, putting it in their bank account, and then writing one large check to the school for a school-sponsored activity, be it a marching band camp, pre-season, a trip, a class fee. I think I might be seeing some of that. While that money is sitting in a Booster account, it is at risk and the officers are at risk. And the parents are at risk.

You hand the liability and the responsibility over to the school system immediately. You pull those records, you do the math, you ask a LOT of questions and you DEMAND answers. And you don't shut up until you get them.

More reports are coming....
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Herndon Band.

The opening pages of the handbook talk about this being a book put together by the parents. They declare that preseason is required and mandatory. It technically is NOT.
All fundraisers are optional, and that includes TAG Day and Showcase. Technically.

I know what the deal is with all this. I am just putting out what I was told and the school regulations and what the letter from Dr. Garza said.
They are also making proclamations that look like things that should be coming from the teacher. Parents don't set policy.

Course description-

Multiple references to mandatory fundraising, with a possible implication that non-participation will affect the grade. There is a signed agreement about mandatory fundraising. Can't do that.

Uniforms are not provided by the parents. The uniforms are provided by the school system. The School Board owns the uniforms.

The payment template is used. A uniform reserve amount is specified. Smart move there.

THE COURSE DESCRIPTION SAYS THAT PRIVATE LESSONS ARE REQUIRED. You can't require private lessons. I might have missed that in earlier posts. I will keep an eye out for that in future ones.

Billing-The problem here is that after using the FCPS template, the Band parents are having the pre-season money run through the parent organization. This is an FCPS- sponsored activity and any money associated with an FCPS-sponsored activity is public funds and supposed to run directly into and through school accounts. Is this letterhead or not? Booster bills can't be on letterhead. FCPS bills can't be on Booster forms.

If the pre-season money is running through Booster accounts, who is contracting for goods and services? Boosters are not allowed to sign contracts to commit public funds. Are the background checks on employees being done (these are required by the school system)? Who is contracting with personnel? How is the pay determined? As I pointed out, DO NOT write checks to a Booster club and have them turn in a lump sum check to the school system. Payments for school-sponsored services should go straight into school accounts. The payment records are also supposed to be in Charms/FCPS.
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The money is going to the parents. That needs to stop. FCPS course fees are to be labeled as such, and paid to the school system.

Remember all fundraising is optional. )It doesn't mention this in the information I was presented with. It also doesn't indicate that it was required.)
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There is a purple and black logo on a registration page that asks for student ID numbers. I don't know whose form this is. Volunteers are not authorized access to student ID numbers. Who is messing with these ID numbers?

Fees are maxed out. No indication that any excess will be returned to families. No separate breakdown of pre-season or indication that it is technically optional. No indication of a specific amount set aside for uniform rental.

Fees are presented on a form with the purple and black logo but also with the FCPS logo this time, which definitely makes it letterhead.

You were paid a house call last year about your ticketing. All curricular concerts are free. Tiny Tots is a fundraiser and it was during the school day last year. That conflicts with school policy. Is Tiny Tots also curricular? Then you can't charge admission. Where is the money going for Tiny Tots? Any performance that uses students and has admission is supposed to use serially numbered tickets and the money is to go into a school account, NOT to a non-profit.

Is your Holiday Spectacular curricular or a fundraiser? Is this your winter concert with a fancy name on it? Same things as discussed under Tiny Tots.

As I have told every other group, remember that fundraisers are optional. Last year TAG Day ran through the school system. It needs to. Students are used. There is a new statement in the 5810.
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This is why the issue of fees for concerts came up. Check out the $72,000 this non-profit Booster group made off of student performances one year. Yes-that is $72,000.

This Booster group is unique in that they do a joint tax return with all departments. Check out the $900,000 gross receipts. I had an interesting time finding out how to insure that kind of money with a Booster insurance company.
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Either of these look familiar? These are a few pages of two officer liability policies. Pull out your policies. READ THEM.

I am sure your lawyers will love to argue about some of the terminology.
My theory is, if the school system is letting you collect funds that you are not entitled to (and you aren't-only the school system can determine and assess a fee for a class) for their classes, they know you are doing this, and under the guise of "we are going to figure out the fee thing eventually so we will let the parents charge for our classes just a little bit longer and hope some parent doesn't wisen up and get too pissed" you are on very shaky ground in more ways than one. And the trips are just a potential liability nightmare. They are basically handing you government money when they order the parents to write the checks to you. You have a verbal agreement. AIM could clearly care less.

And if the MOU had gone through..........

Boosters are not legally entitled to send bills to families for money because somebody signed their child up for a class. That is Virginia law. That's a whole 'nother problem. With both companies. Obtaining money from people by sending a bill without the legal right to do so....... Any requests for money from a Booster group need to be stipulated as optional and voluntary. Nobody has to pay you anything. Parents, you don't have to pay any of these bills sent out by Booster groups unless it is for something you bought like clothing or shoes.

It's just not worth it. Get the government money where it belongs and wash your hands of this. Immediately.
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No mention of where payments are going.
I think everybody at this school needs to figure out what is curricular and what is not curricular, what is fundraiser and what isn't.
Remember, all fundraisers are optional.
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Who all has access to student ID numbers?
No ID numbers to volunteers.

Tag Day-marked as expected. I hate that term. But, it does not have a star. Tag Day is technically optional.

The usual issues about Tiny Tots, Holiday Spectacular-what is curricular, what is fundraiser, is Tiny Tots during the school day (can't do that). Can't charge for curricular concerts.
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The bills for fees are presented on Booster forms. There is a marching fee that is marked to be paid to the parent group. Any payments to the parent group have to be optional. This doesn't look optional at all.

No mention of where the other fees are to be paid. They are presented on a Booster form.

FCPS fees, if that is what these are, are supposed to be presented on FCPS letterhead only.

What is going on with pre-season? It is supposed to be optional and have a separate FCPS fee paid to the school.

More Tiny Tots concerts during the school day. No fundraisers during the school day. You can't charge for curricular concerts.

I am reminding everybody that fundraisers are optional.

I will let Gatehouse figure this out.
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I know somebody who asked for the tax return from these people last year and HE NEVER GOT IT. We could not find them with the IRS. We could not find them with Parent Booster USA. They are listed with Parent Booster USA under a group letter this year. I have been waiting the 12 days to see the tax return and organizational documents on this group. Why is this so difficult? Twelve days is the limit. Let's go! This is basic stuff.

Fundraising is optional. The syllabus shows it tied to their Varsity letter, which is not academic, but fundraising is optional. Why should somebody be penalized for that?

The $500+ school trip is being run through the Boosters. Parents, don't do it. Demand that your money be put into a school account. Right now.
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Wow. This is interesting. How did that get in there? Whose idea was this? This is unethical. Outrageous. Sets a bad example. Terrible life lesson.
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Dear Karl-
Ask the Comptroller. Ask the IRS. Call up Parent Booster USA. PB USA stipulates that you have to have a statement to that effect in your organizational documents to get under their group letter.

You want money just for yourself? GET A JOB.

I stayed out of the IFA discussions. Even I wasn't going there.

oh, and AIM also does not want to hear about disputes about your fees, officers. That is right in the exclusions. Neither company wants to hear about Boosters who knowingly and intentionally ignore school regulations and state and Federal laws, either.

This is a company owned by an attorney who specializes in non-profit. She started this company after getting involved in Booster clubs with her kids.

I stayed out of this snake pit.
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Good morning!
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Maybe the Comptroller and legal didn't want outside groups playing this game with their parents, and handing them money resulting from this to pay for school-sponsored trips. They were having to keep careful records on this in their spreadsheets. See the trip spreadsheet up there with all the notations about student accounts?

Maybe it was because there was a teacher who took their kids on school trips and participated in IFA's to pay for their expenses that they incurred by taking them along. Seriously, that happened. No names on that one......

:--).
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Annandale Orchestra- you also can't have in your syllabus that parents need to volunteer for at least one event per year and sign a contract for that for the class.

Look, I know you need volunteers. Parents, HELP OUT. But, you can't have mandatory volunteering. Everybody can do something. I sewed a costume. It was 60 hours of work, but I was able to do it at home. People run fundraisers from home (scrip, etc.). You don't have to go on a trip. You get into football games for free if you help out with marching band that night and the work is minimal. You are there anyway. I did a lot of volunteering until I got tired of being yelled at for asking the wrong questions.....

Now I voluntarily screen public records.

Here is more information to discuss about why the information and money are moving into school systems and accounts. All you legal people can argue all you want. I am just putting this out here. I personally delivered this information to the Deputy and the School Board at various points, particularly when the MOU was all the rage.

1. Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act. If the school system had gone ahead with the formal contract/MOU, this Act would have applied to Boosters and their computer systems. Registering all computers used, specification of certain systems, maintaining access records, proceeding for injuction or mandamus and the applicable fines all make for easy reading but not so easy compliance. I think you can all see the problems here.

2. P1530-Volunteers do not have primary responsibility for the assistance they provide. The school personnel cannot delegate away their responsibilities and wash their hands of the accountability. I don't know how many times I pointed this out to them. Maybe 50 or 60?

3. P5710-Volunteers are covered under school policies and self-insurance for the assistance they provide to the school personnel.

Now as for the public funds and personal information associated with it floating around Booster bank accounts and Booster computers RIGHT NOW on a handshake agreement, good luck. The school system is putting their professional licenses on the line continuing to allow this to go on. Who assumes the liability if things go wrong with money and things in Booster accounts and records? Many things already went very wrong, and they tried to run away and hide. They left or tried to leave a lot of families in the lurch. If you have any problems with the Boosters handling the money or your personal information I seriously doubt the school system is going to step right in and help out the families, in spite of the fact they delegated this work to you. Their record stinks. Make them do their work and assume the liability. NOW. And then pull records and tear them apart line by line. Send them out to all the families. Between all of you, there are enough eyes to check the details. You are volunteers. You don't have to put your homes on the line for this kind of work.
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I am not picking on Chantilly. They just happen to have one of the highest gross receipts numbers in the whole lot, because they process all three programs through one account.

Gross receipts are about $900,000 on this form 990. The insurance bill is listed as $634. The companies I checked with recommended insuring every single dollar, and the rates they quoted (if they even covered this much) were no where near $634 a year (that $634 probably also includes officer liability).

So, you folks can talk it over at your next meetings. How much insurance do your groups carry? Ask. How much would you like to have? And yes, it can all disappear, and it has.
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This happened to the crew teams in this area.
She had a nervous breakdown over this and I guess we are supposed to feel sorry for her.
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I will add that I pulled the Government Data Collection laws right off the FCPS website under "P" for privacy......................... :<).

senza sord Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This happened to the crew teams in this area.
> She had a nervous breakdown over this and I guess
> we are supposed to feel sorry for her.


http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Sonya-Swansbrough-Bethany-Speed-Accused-of-Embezzling-Money-231502931.html

^^^^^Yeh another winner. Here's the deal-
If you write a check to the school system for an $800 trip and somebody cleans out the bank account, you will have absolutely minimal trouble getting this fixed, compared to dealing with Denise Booster President. Yeh, it will come out of publicly funded insurance or self-insurance. You try dealing with a nasty bitch of a president. I don't care how it gets fixed as long as I get my money applied towards my kid's trip to Orlando.

I can top that one.
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The word from DCCO was that I was given the "wrong information" and the May of 2014 packet that I found on the website is the accurate information. Oh really. What's going on, Centreville? Parents, is that the way it went?

Regardless, parents, you are owed some money. Booster clubs do not have the authority to demand money from parents. Westfield, Madison, and Langley (more on that later) already tried that. That was made very clear in the FAQ's. So, you are owed at least $160 per child and an explanation. You can try dealing with Joe or Susie Booster President or whoever. If that doesn't work, try your principal. I worked through the Comptroller and the Deputy to fight for the above three schools. You also have the right to have this addressed with the School Board auditor, who investigates outside groups that are doing things to families that they aren't supposed to do. It is already there.

If it was used to pay for pre-season, according to the FAQ's that money is supposed to run through the school accounts. That is a school-sponsored optional activity. Any staff who work that camp are supposed to undergo background checks with the school system. Their work hours are recorded, and they are paid according to their contract with the school system. You also have the right to have that camp priced out at actual cost terms. You have the right to see all accounting data and receipts and contracts, as well as redacted student payment spreadsheets.

If this is the game where you give money to the Booster club, write it off as a donation, but it is actually going for services received, you can't do that. I know Lois is out of a job now, but somebody else has taken over and probably nothing has changed.

More senza sord Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The word from DCCO was that I was given the "wrong
> information" and the May of 2014 packet that I
> found on the website is the accurate information.
> Oh really. What's going on, Centreville? Parents,
> is that the way it went?
>
> Regardless, parents, you are owed some money.
> Booster clubs do not have the authority to demand
> money from parents. Westfield, Madison, and
> Langley (more on that later) already tried that.
> That was made very clear in the FAQ's. So, you are
> owed at least $160 per child and an explanation.
> You can try dealing with Joe or Susie Booster
> President or whoever. If that doesn't work, try
> your principal. I worked through the Comptroller
> and the Deputy to fight for the above three
> schools. You also have the right to have this
> addressed with the School Board auditor, who
> investigates outside groups that are doing things
> to families that they aren't supposed to do. It is
> already there.
>
> If it was used to pay for pre-season, according to
> the FAQ's that money is supposed to run through
> the school accounts. That is a school-sponsored
> optional activity. Any staff who work that camp
> are supposed to undergo background checks with the
> school system. Their work hours are recorded, and
> they are paid according to their contract with the
> school system. You also have the right to have
> that camp priced out at actual cost terms. You
> have the right to see all accounting data and
> receipts and contracts, as well as redacted
> student payment spreadsheets.
>
> If this is the game where you give money to the
> Booster club, write it off as a donation, but it
> is actually going for services received, you can't
> do that. I know Lois is out of a job now, but
> somebody else has taken over and probably nothing
> has changed.

This was Centreville Band.

And to wrap up Centreville Band, the amount paid to the Boosters looks like what should be your consumables fee, which is capped at $150 or actual cost, whichever is less, and is supposed to be run through a school account.

Here are a few examples of why public funds need to go into a public bank account, have public records available, strong insurance coverage, etc. It is heartbreaking to see what can happen and what it does to the community and the families.
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Here they are all together, the FCPS music teachers, during teacher work-week in August, about to start their 1/2 day in-service, a portion of which will serve as their training on new financial policies for the groups they teach:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPCdkVjbFP8

You're submitting a story about a finance technician who embezzled money (and was caught, arrested, and dismissed) in support for your claims that FCPS music boosters are mismanaging funds?

How are these two things related?

(The finance tech got what she deserved, by the way.)

Should FCPS teachers not sing the national anthem? Did you not like the rendition? What's your complaint? That 1.5 minutes of a workday should't be used to sing the anthem?

without mute Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here they are all together, the FCPS music
> teachers, during teacher work-week in August,
> about to start their 1/2 day in-service, a portion
> of which will serve as their training on new
> financial policies for the groups they teach:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPCdkVjbFP8



This absolutely makes my day. It is a pleasure to hear the National Anthem sung the way it is supposed to be sung. Loved the sopranos at the end. Yes, ladies. You can do it. This is an example of why music education is so important.

I am glad you got some training on the new financial policies. It appears some people might have missed the meeting or fell asleep. I am sure this will all work out eventually.

Not relevant to your argument. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You're submitting a story about a finance
> technician who embezzled money (and was caught,
> arrested, and dismissed) in support for your
> claims that FCPS music boosters are mismanaging
> funds?
>
> How are these two things related?
>
> (The finance tech got what she deserved, by the
> way.)

I am pointing out the importance of public accounts being used to handle public funds. Because anybody can get the public records fairly easily. Not so with nonprofits. Been there, done that. The school system also has tons of money to cover a situation like this. Were there any parents who took a loss on money given to TJ for their child's activities? I doubt it. Did anybody call them up and tell them that their child's $600 in trip payments were stolen and would not be replaced? I doubt it.

The crew officers apparently tried to keep their mess quiet. Right. Somebody put out minutes on the Internet. I would love to know what the Hell the other officers were doing the whole time this was going on. Wasn't anybody reviewing bank statements and things? Some of the non-profit insurance policies are worthless if they don't. If a trip to the bank showed what happened, a trip to the file cabinet or computer should have shown the same information.

Shame on the TJ public employee letting the students down. Despicable. Lower than low. Stealing from children.

I'd encourage you to watch this before each post you make. These are people trying to bring music into the lives of the children of Fairfax Country as a meaningful component of their education. As is with all of education, resources are inadequate to the task at hand.

Perhaps we could replace them with CPAs who were members of their respective collegiate marching bands?

without mute Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'd encourage you to watch this before each post
> you make. These are people trying to bring music
> into the lives of the children of Fairfax Country
> as a meaningful component of their education. As
> is with all of education, resources are inadequate
> to the task at hand.
>
> Perhaps we could replace them with CPAs who were
> members of their respective collegiate marching
> bands?

You can save the sarcastic remarks. You are all being told exactly what to do. People are just resistant to change and/or want anything they can get and don't care how they get it.

No, I meant the suggestion. It was not a sarcastic suggestion. I think you'd be happier if they were better versed in legalese than they are music.

Annandale Band.

You used the template. Good.
Glad to see that you have the uniform reserve fund amount in there. It seems awfully low.
Saw the uniform replacement charges. Those should go to the school, NOT the parent group.
Pre-season and away retreat is technically optional. I know they are lost without it. If there are charges for the home retreat they should be separate from the away retreat.
The parent handbook seems to have a lot of information I am used to seeing coming from staff, but it is nicely laid out. Instructions to students should come from staff, for example. Parents don't have the right to tell students what to do. They are volunteers.

Gift cards- The IFA's have been eliminated. Supposedly. So, could somebody please explain to me why handing out gift cards (which are cash) to only the people who participate in the fundraisers is not a private benefit? The grand prize is a $200 gift card. I am seeing several versions of this at multiple schools. I don't follow the logic.

All fundraisers, including Citrus and Poinsettia sales, are optional. Any fundraisers that use the students are supposed to have the money in a school account (R5810). That would include TAG Day.
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without mute Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No, I meant the suggestion. It was not a sarcastic
> suggestion. I think you'd be happier if they were
> better versed in legalese than they are music.


I have no sympathy. Really. You work for the school system and part of your job is doing what you are told and that includes finances. Figure it out or ask questions. You can't leave the financial aspects of your class up to a non-profit that is separate from the school system. They don't have any right to do anything.

Dear Annandale Band Director -

Welcome to Fairfax County! Being new to the area this year, we hope that you will quickly adapt to our way of doing things. Although our expectations are not always consistent with how things are handled in the majority of school districts across the nation, we are on the right side of things in respect to legality.

If you need help with anything, don't hesitate to reach out and consult the regulations.

Excited to have you here,

BB

without mute Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dear Annandale Band Director -
>
> Welcome to Fairfax County! Being new to the area
> this year, we hope that you will quickly adapt to
> our way of doing things. Although our expectations
> are not always consistent with how things are
> handled in the majority of school districts across
> the nation, we are on the right side of things in
> respect to legality.
>
> If you need help with anything, don't hesitate to
> reach out and consult the regulations.
>
> Excited to have you here,
>
> BB


Did your parents teach you that just because everybody else is breaking the law it is OK if you do, too?

It isn't. So, wake up. Set an example.

Annandale Chorus.

FCPS course fees should be going directly to the school. Eventually. Hopefully. Maybe.

Any money collected for replacing lost uniforms should go to the school.
Attachments:

senza sord sfz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> without mute Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Dear Annandale Band Director -
> >
> > Welcome to Fairfax County! Being new to the
> area
> > this year, we hope that you will quickly adapt
> to
> > our way of doing things. Although our
> expectations
> > are not always consistent with how things are
> > handled in the majority of school districts
> across
> > the nation, we are on the right side of things
> in
> > respect to legality.
> >
> > If you need help with anything, don't hesitate
> to
> > reach out and consult the regulations.
> >
> > Excited to have you here,
> >
> > BB
>
>
> Did your parents teach you that just because
> everybody else is breaking the law it is OK if you
> do, too?
>
> It isn't. So, wake up. Set an example.

No, they did not. But they did teach me reason, of which I've found almost none of in anonymous internet message boards.

West Potomac Chorus.

Fee should go to school. I can't tell if it is going to parents or to the school. It says both on different pages. It looks like both are turned in. The fee form has references to releasing FARM status. Parents are not authorized the information according to my most recent phone call to Richmond.

No IFA's.
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BTW, I went to a public information conference this weekend. They were very amused at the idea of public funds and public records being handled in the manner in which they have all these years in this school system. Wanted to hear lots and lots about it.

So, I told them all about it.

> >
> > Did your parents teach you that just because
> > everybody else is breaking the law it is OK if
> you
> > do, too?
> >
> > It isn't. So, wake up. Set an example.
>
> No, they did not. But they did teach me reason, of
> which I've found almost none of in anonymous
> internet message boards.


I think there is a lot of reason in a volunteer screening public information and posting it for the citizens to see. It doesn't matter if it is an anonymous forum or not. It gets the job done.

What I don't see reason in is staff who don't understand their responsibilities under the Virginia public records act, staff who don't understand that it is a requirement of their license to follow all school regulations and applicable state and Federal laws (don't they teach any of this stuff in school to you people?), staff and parents who make fun of and bully a parent around who is asserting their rights under Virginia law, staff and parents who ignore regulations and state/Federal laws in a sad, sick attempt to extort money out of parents who don't know their rights.

Clean it up. NOW.

> (don't they
> teach any of this stuff in school to you people?)

You, BB, are a cunt. There is nothing that 4 years of college can do to prepare someone for the multitude of crazy that is a career in the public school system.

McLean Band.

Last year was pathetic. They told everybody that the Marching Fee was $100, and all the other information was buried in Charms "members only". They said everything else was optional. I had the information pulled.

So then they turned around and sent everybody a bill for $150, plus a bill for an additional $350. All due mid-June. Did not see ONE WORD about optional on the bill.

Somehow this survived an investigation by the Comptroller that I requested. They were #4 of the Final Four. What a bunch of crap.

This year is even more fun.

The parents signed the MOA. Great. Feel the power!

They REMOVED the line in the template about returning excess fees to the families!!!!!!!! They are telling everybody excess fees will be transferred over into a uniform reserve fund. That was all very clearly stated as inappropriate in the FAQ's. This is inappropriate template modification that conflicts with school policy. They did not include a specified amount regarding a uniform reserve fund. This was in not just one but TWO different sections.

WHO TOOK IT UPON THEMSELVES TO MODIFY THE FCPS TEMPLATE?????????????????????

The Marching Fee is $350, which exceeds the $300 limit. It does include pre-season, but pre-season is supposed to technically be optional and priced out separately.

There are some additional travel fees for Marching Band.

Jazz Band fee is set at $75. It is also described as an FCPS sponsored optional activity. They say it's not enough money so fundraising will be applied. It is listed as a one credit CLASS in the course catalog on the MHS website. So, the appropriate maximum fee is $50.


Fundraising in public school is optional. That means TAG day, Raffle day, etc. So there isn't any conflict as stated in the "sports policy". Fundraisers should not interfere with practices and games/matches and THEY take precedence because fundraising is optional. KIDS-GO TO YOUR PRACTICES AND GAMES/MATCHES.

Any fundraising utilizing students is supposed to have the money go into a school account. Students are not to sell raffle tickets on school grounds (I don't know anything about your Raffle Day).

You can explain it all to Gatehouse.
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I could tell from the FAQ's this wasn't sinking in. I was right. So, here they are again.
Attachments:

(don't they
> teach any of this stuff in school to you people?)


They don't. THEY DON'T! Teachers are left to figure this stuff out by word of mouth. Most jump in focused on - oh I don't know - teaching students, content, and student management. There is no course or inservice or anything that remotely addresses any of this stuff to get licensed or hired. Mentors do not bring it up. Finance folks do not bring it up. Admins do not bring it up unless you've screwed something up.

T7Ymj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> (don't they
> > teach any of this stuff in school to you
> people?)
>
>
> They don't. THEY DON'T! Teachers are left to
> figure this stuff out by word of mouth. Most jump
> in focused on - oh I don't know - teaching
> students, content, and student management. There
> is no course or inservice or anything that
> remotely addresses any of this stuff to get
> licensed or hired. Mentors do not bring it up.
> Finance folks do not bring it up. Admins do not
> bring it up unless you've screwed something up.


I find this very interesting. Because just about every teacher outside of Fairfax and outside of the music community seems to know this-

Fees are set by the school system.
Fundraising is optional.
Classes are the responsibility of the school system.
Volunteers don't control classes.
If you are not entitled to money you can't keep it and/or try to obtain it.

This is common sense.

Look I know you have your hands full. I had kids in public school for 25 years. I have family in the education business. They know all this, too. And I agree that they should be monitoring things more closely and trying to help guide you through this. Look how much money I am saving the school system doing all this on a volunteer basis.

And just about every person I know of who works for the government understands that public records are exactly that. And to bully somebody around and yell at them and make fun of them for wanting to see them could very well be a FOIA violation in the future. They are considering a new addition to the law. I volunteered to be interviewed for that. And I will name names. Peers and staff.

Another 18 schools to go......

> I find this very interesting. Because just about
> every teacher outside of Fairfax and outside of
> the music community seems to know this-

Bullshit. Name names.

without mute Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > I find this very interesting. Because just
> about
> > every teacher outside of Fairfax and outside of
> > the music community seems to know this-
>
> Bullshit. Name names.


How about a retired Super? They think you people are nuts. Talked with them last night and they think you people are CRAZY doing a cloud with volunteers managing your information. McLean couldn't even fill in a template properly and that was after they asked the bulk of the FAQ's and probably had you up into the wee hours with that lawyer of theirs. They even challenged the requirement to use FCPS letterhead for the bills. So, they just changed the template! I think my favorite FAQ was Robinson asking why they couldn't sign the checks. They actually wanted signatory privileges on a school bank account? I am a big believer in that there is never a stupid question, but some of these were a riot. I loved the FAQ's.

From the very complimentary four letter word and the above comment, could you possibly be the principal who made fun of me in front of a room full of about 60 abusive parents who were totally hot on taking away my rights as a citizen and were using a lawyer who was a friend of your teacher to try to bully me into that, then turned around and gave these people a trip to process (knowing full well they had a pathological secrecy problem), after I was promised that their public money privileges had been revoked, then was ordered by your Super to go to a Booster meeting and beg for your public records so that you could provide them to me after my FOIA request on said trip, then must have walked out empty handed since I then got a frantic phone call from your sweating Super begging for more time? I came very close to turning that lawyer in to the State Bar for a Board of Inquiry. Threatening a parent and trying to block their access to public records and refusing to show a parent other records pertaining to the usage of their money that they gave this group to provide for a minor child. That would have been really interesting. After I got the PUBLIC RECORDS about four months later this lawyer tried to tell me I couldn't show the PUBLIC RECORDS to anybody or I would have to endure the wrath and power of the Boosters. More fun with the Bar.

Going out to dinner tonight using the p card?


Aah, the memories. More reports coming.

Now we are going over to Woodson Chorus. July of 2013 I asked to see the student payment spreadsheet for a school-sponsored trip they took in APRIL, with the money handled by the Choral Boosters. This is what I got. In JULY. Look at all the people who look to be owed as much as $800. In JULY. Look at all the people who still supposedly owed. In JULY. I notified the Comptroller, a trip accountability sheet was done, and over $4000 in refund checks were written at some point. This trip won the award for the most messed-up trip that year. I was told that I might not have gotten the most accurate information. WHY NOT? When WERE these people paid back? When I asked to see a student payment spreadsheet, IN JULY, it should have been the most current and accurate one. That is what FOIA is all about.

Congratulations. Even Dr. Garza heard about this one. If any of you got a big fat check over that summer, you are welcome.

The packet for this year shows TAG Day as mandatory. It is optional.
The choir fee is going to the Boosters. It should go to the school and be labeled as an FCPS fee.
The uniform rental money is going to the Boosters. It should go to the school, as should any payments for lost or damaged uniforms (they belong to the School Board).
They are using a Choral Boosters health form instead of an FCPS health form. All your trips are school-sponsored. They should be using school forms. Where does this form go after you turn it in? The Choral director can delegate at least some of their work to the volunteers and the school system then assumes the responsibility and liability.

PARENTS IN ALL PROGRAMS-DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, TURN IN ANY MONEY TO A BOOSTER GROUP FOR A SCHOOL TRIP. Insist that it be handled by the school system. I don't care if it is Band, Orchestra, Chorus, or Guitar. Enough is enough.
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And as far as trips, I saw a lot of Booster bailouts. As in, people underestimated the cost of the trip, and the Boosters took hard-earned fundraising money to bail somebody out who can't keep a handle on trip costs.

Tell people up front, in writing, that the cost of the trip is only an estimate and they will be responsible for any increased price. Pad the price of the trip. You can always offer a refund. Keep an eye on expenses. If things are costing more, up the final payment. If the final cost exceeds the original price, send everybody a bill for $25 or whatever it is. Tell them they can't purchase Prom tickets until they pay up.

These trips are optional. They should be a self-supported luxury.

And then take what you would have used to bail somebody out who can't get the price right and buy some instruments or something. Much easier than selling another 1000 apple pies. Don't be suckers. You are being used.

TJ Band is playing some interesting games. The unusual thing about TJ is that Marching Band is NOT curricular. It is optional school-sponsored "extracurricular". But, they receive the $20,500 of appropriated funds like the "curricular" groups do. It is not in the course catalog.

Last year they sent out bills for "donations" for their summer Orkney trip. This was your typical school-sponsored trip. I asked about this, insisted this be clarified, and a letter was sent out informing the parents that this was not a "donation" but rather a payment for a school trip. Orkney is running through the school system this year with a PAYMENT.

I was informed by DCCO that there wasn't any fee for Bands at TJ this year. Marching Band is "requesting" a $350 "donation" payable to the Boosters that they are "expecting" to receive. I can't tell you how much I hate all those terms. I seriously doubt this is a "donation" that you can deduct on your income tax. And I would bet they are "expecting" it so much that they are asking you for it even if you decide to not "donate" it. They are probably sending out multiple "requests". WITH DUE DATES. It is probably mostly services. You should be sent a statement to that affect. Either that, or call it something different than a donation. Parents, you don't have to give these people ANYTHING for Marching Band under these terms. WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP.

I notice a curricular Band "supplement" and "fee" on the Booster budget sheet. WHAT "supplement" and "fee"? Hey DCCO? What's going on here?

The Marching Band receives appropriated funds. So, this is a school-sponsored activity. Does the School Board own the uniforms? Probably. So, the kids are using school uniforms and there could/should be a rental fee. Do these people have to follow the fees and the public funds and public records issues if this is a school-sponsored activity and TJ is receiving $20,500 in appropriated funds to run this Band? I can kind of see where they wouldn't have to follow the course fees, but these are public funds and public records to a large extent because this is an activity of the school and parents are turning money in to pay for it. And the fees for it should be at cost. And the fees should go to the school, NOT the Boosters, because this is a school-sponsored activity. Parents, you are bypassing the safety of a school-insured account for a school-sponsored activity playing these games. Your parent group only pays $250 for their insurance and bond. How much coverage is there? This is still an agreement with a Superintendent and a lot of this is public funds. Do you have Officer liability coverage? Read your policies.

Anybody want to take a crack at this? Gatehouse? Care to join in? I KNOW YOU ARE READING THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't tell me you're not.

DON'T THE REST OF YOU EVEN DREAM ABOUT TRYING THIS. I will see right through it and hang you up to dry. Don't do this to families.
Attachments:

And school staff and property are not supposed to be used to help Boosters collect money for their accounts. This is in a syllabus, the FCPS stuff is right along with the Booster stuff, and the checks for the Boosters are being mailed to the teacher. Ding ding ding. This is a scam. Smoke and mirrors.

Put these people on the fee schedule and run it through the school. Make it a condition of the school receiving the appropriated funds.

> From the very complimentary four letter word and
> the above comment, could you possibly be the
> principal who made fun of me in front of a room
> full of about 60 abusive parents who were totally
> hot on taking away my rights as a citizen and were
> using a lawyer who was a friend of your teacher to
> try to bully me into that, then turned around and
> gave these people a trip to process (knowing full
> well they had a pathological secrecy problem),
> after I was promised that their public money
> privileges had been revoked, then was ordered by
> your Super to go to a Booster meeting and beg for
> your public records so that you could provide them
> to me after my FOIA request on said trip, then
> must have walked out empty handed since I then got
> a frantic phone call from your sweating Super
> begging for more time? I came very close to
> turning that lawyer in to the State Bar for a
> Board of Inquiry. Threatening a parent and trying
> to block their access to public records and
> refusing to show a parent other records pertaining
> to the usage of their money that they gave this
> group to provide for a minor child. That would
> have been really interesting. After I got the
> PUBLIC RECORDS about four months later this lawyer
> tried to tell me I couldn't show the PUBLIC
> RECORDS to anybody or I would have to endure the
> wrath and power of the Boosters. More fun with the
> Bar.
>
> Going out to dinner tonight using the p card?
>
>
> Aah, the memories. More reports coming.


No, I couldn't possibly, but I have heard the story. The four letter compliment was in regard to the way you talk about music teachers ("you people") as if 1, they are some lower class of person, and 2, as if they hold an annual meeting each August to bring everyone up to speed on how to do horrible things for the children in their programs.

^^^I love music and have been a musician for 50 years. I think you are a very sick person, I think it is sad that teachers and principals think that when someone expects them to follow the state laws and school regulations that apply to their classes they wail and gnash their teeth like it is just too much to ask and think it is appropriate to make fun of and yell at that person.

How would you like it if when you went in for medical care the doctors and staff got all upset if you expected them to follow the standards of their professions and the applicable state laws, called you a cunt, a bitch, made fun of you and yelled at you in front of the other patients, etc,?

You sound like a total jerk but don't worry you are far from alone.

> You sound like a total jerk but don't worry you
> are far from alone.

And there it is again even clearer. You actually think that music teachers in FCPS are by nature bad people.

without mute Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > You sound like a total jerk but don't worry you
> > are far from alone.
>
> And there it is again even clearer. You actually
> think that music teachers in FCPS are by nature
> bad people.


I didn't say that. In the depths of your mental disorder you assumed that. Be sure to take your meds. You are dealing with vulnerable children and families.

> I didn't say that. In the depths of your mental
> disorder you assumed that. Be sure to take your
> meds. You are dealing with vulnerable children and
> families.

No, you haven't said it outright. But you've dedicated a substantial portion of the last few years to implying it.

^^^^^You haven't answered the question about how you would feel if you went in for medical care, the doctors and staff weren't following the standards of care for their professions, you asked them to wash their hands/answer your questions/whatever, they thought you were out to get them and called you a cunt/bitch whatever and yelled at you in the office waiting room in front of all the other patients and made fun of you. And the answer is......

Be sure to take your meda. I think you need some counseling.

Staccato Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ^^^^^You haven't answered the question about how
> you would feel if you went in for medical care,
> the doctors and staff weren't following the
> standards of care for their professions, you asked
> them to wash their hands/answer your
> questions/whatever, they thought you were out to
> get them and called you a cunt/bitch whatever and
> yelled at you in the office waiting room in front
> of all the other patients and made fun of you. And
> the answer is......
>
> Be sure to take your meda. I think you need some
> counseling.


Oh and let's add in there that the physician called you four years later, said they were "moving forward", please come back, and they were still acting like this.
Only the rates were double. And you found out after the appointment that they said they took your insurance, but they didn't really, and they want you to pay before you leave the office.

Take your meds.