On Saturday morning, I put together a folder of fliers and walked downtown. I joined the local education foundation last spring in a fit of civic spiritedness. Until this point, I had firmly avoided any dealings with the PTA and other parent organization groups. I was super busy and, as any good rational choicer knows, it is better to free ride, let others do the hard work, and reap the benefits of their labor. What the rational choicers don't realize is that, thanks to my mom, most of my actions are based on largely on guilt rather than rationality. So when my employment status changed, I started attending meetings.

Foundations are similar to PTAs, except they can raise more money from outside corporations and tend to be aimed at supplementing curricular needs.

It's been much more work than I could have expected. It's a new group and, as they plan their first big fund raiser, there's a big learning curve. It's also hard to find people who have the time to participate. A handful of people are putting in a tons of hours. But at the same time, this work is more important than ever. As school budgets are slashed, these groups have stepped in to cover basic expenses at schools.

On my Saturday morning rounds of the local businesses, I learned a lot of stuff. These local businesses are providing thousands of dollars to schools. They are hit up by the PTAs in the five schools in town, the regional Catholic schools, the band, the sports teams, the glee club. A few good guys keep giving, even though their own businesses are struggling. 

The problem with raising money through volunteers and small businesses is that the cost of schools is concentrated in a few hands. With taxes, the whole community is hit up for cash. Now, we're hammering a small sector of the community to pay for schools.

PTA membership has dropped precipituously over the years. The biggest reason is that women have entered into the workforce. In the past, the PTAs provided a social outlet for moms and helped to foster social capital. Now, they are shouldering a bigger burden of financially propping up schools. Perhaps we need to reexamine the PTA in the communities. Perhaps someone can help me wrap up baskets of crap for Casino Night.