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Moms View Message Board: Parenting Discussion: School rant
Ok, I am beyond disgusted with the principal at my kids' school. They go to the "ghetto" school in our district, because the house I just moved out of is in the radius. I could pull them and send them to the school by our new house, but decided not to because they love their teachers. So, my boyfriend and I are have Mondays off, and the kids had a pumpkin patch field trip on a Monday. We volunteer our day off to go with 60 kindergarteners to this farm, and the teachers were great, very appreciative. We had a wonderful time, and went home after the trip. John went to pick the kids up an hour later so I could nap because I wasn't feeling well. The principal, who had never spoken to us before, came up to him and said "You and their mother went on the field trip today?" He confirmed, expecting a thank you or something, but she replied "Well, tell their mother she needs to come see me, because you had sack lunches and need to pay for them!" Mind you, my children take their lunches every day, but they each have money on their cards, just in case, so they could have taken the $3.00 off the cards, not to mention the teachers offered us the lunches because we'd forgotten to pack ours. So, OMG!! I'm seeing RED when I hear this. I confront the principal, very calmly, a few days later, and she apologizes up and down, swears that is not how she meant to be, and she really was grateful we'd offered to help. I explain I just moved, and didn't have to keep my kids in her school, and was VERY offended by her treating us with such disrespect. More apologies, which I pass on to John, and we think the whole mess is behind us. As I'm walking out of the office, a clerk tells me they were just going to take the lunches off the kids' card, just so I'd know . Well, a week or so later, I had a meeting at work, and he again went to pick them up. All the parents wait in the courtyard area for the bell. The principal comes out as the bell rings, and waves her hand toward the parents and says "I'm just seeing who owes me money out here!" OMG, the string of explicatives that ran through my head when I heard this would make a sailor blush. I was so furious, I took the rest of the day to calm down, so I would seem reasonable when I filed the complaint about this woman. I certainly did not owe the school any money, but what if someone in that crowd did, she would have embarrassed the heck out of them! So, I called the superintendents office the next day, and filed a complaint about the behavior of this idiot principal. They assured me it would be addressed, but I haven't heard back. So, if you made it this far, what would you have done? Am I over-reacting or is this woman completely out of line? I understand that a school is still a business, but after supplying the classrooms with $50 per child in supplies that I cannot keep, paying for snack milk every day, paying $60+ in TEXTBOOK fees for kindergarteners, and volunteering my day off to be an involved parent, I think the treatment we've received is horrendous!! I cannot even begin to understand how she thinks this is an acceptable way to treat parents!! Oh, and we're also collecting food for the local food pantry, box tops for education, and are asked to donate more school supplies when the teachers need them, yet we're treated like deadbeats. ARGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
OMG! You are not over-reacting. This principal needs serious lessons in tact and respect. Good for you for making a formal complaint. I would have done the same thing.
NOT over=reacting!! Honestly, it's really not her job to know the individual lunch accounts of the children unless they are outstanding, and even then, it actually goes to the treasury of the school and NOT to the principal. On the chance that parents have not paid their bill and are way in debt, it's STILL not the principal's responsibility (at least here). It's the job of the administration to handle debts tactfully and legally when necessary.
You are so not over-reacting!!!! And, may I ask, $60 for textbooks????? For Kindergarten??? WHAT?
I don't think you're over-reacting, either. However, the principle may just be one of those people that's very money oriented because the school needs someone to be. My kids have attended school in very poor districts before, even down to the school running out of paper for the copiers and the teachers not being able to send homework home because they can't copy it! I'd bet ya that a lot of parents didn't/couldn't pay the textbook fees or pay for their child's supplies. The school's probably struggling. The principle isn't handling it very well, though. Embarrassing people never helps. And yeah, $60 for textbooks for kindergarten's is outrageous!
nope, i agree with you Crystal. That is unbelieveable! And $60 for kindergarten textbooks? WHAT? Insane.
If people owe money for lunch accounts, and whatever, it should be handled privately and discretely. Sheesh!
Ditto Dawn... I think your formal letter should have been sent to the principal first though. Praise in public, shame in private. Although, note to the principal that if it's done again, it will be sent to the school board. The Superintendent would not be my first choice because it's one person's decision to do anything about it. When the school board is involved, things get accomplished. JMHO
Not only "tacky" but you'd think a principle of a school would have other, more important things to attend to besides collecting lunch money.(?)
Off the subject...it's $60 for Kdg. here as well for "textbooks", although that's not actually for textbooks, but supplies/consumables.
I would have been upset to and I would have addressed the situation. What exactly would they have done with the two sack lunches you ate, if you hadn't eaten them? My money says, thrown them away.
I don't think you over reacted, either! The least they could do was feed you for your time! I'm sure the teacher was very thankful that you were there!
Did they ever reply or have you heard anything?
Good GRIEF!
This is ridiculous. It is something that should be discussed in private, there is no need to embarrass anyone.
Thanks, everyone, I feel better. As for a formal letter to her first, I haven't sent any formal letter, only a complaint filed with the superintendent. I did not send her a formal letter because I had spoken to her in private after the first instance, and felt that she back-pedalled, but hoped it wouldn't happen again. After the second I was furious. As for the lunch money, she walked out and gave some parents and envelope this week, it was obvious what it was for, but it was much more discreet than an announcement.
Around here the principle doesn't handle lunch money issues. My kids have attended in two different districts and in both cases there is a food service coordinator that over see's lunch money issues. The principles also do not address school fee issues, those are handled through the board of administration and notices are sent home by teachers but they are in envelopes that are sealed, if you don't pay the notices are sent to your home. In other words around here the school office staff, principles and such are not privy to who owes what. Their job is to teach the students and there are other people set up to deal with the money end of the deal.
At the elementary school my kids went to, we gave our lunch money to the school secretary and she took care of entering it into the computer.
Dawn the secretaries in both districts I refer to act as cashiers, as far as collecting funds, but they aren't in charge of managing the accounts.
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but maybe just try to accept the fact that she is a moron and let it slide off your back. Chances are nothing you say or do will change her. She just has very poor people skills.