Montlake PTA Equity Fund

Again this year, donors will have the opportunity to donate to the Montlake PTA Equity Fund when donating online to the Annual Fund. The money in this fund will then be donated to schools without PTA fundraisers. This Equity Fund is a first step towards addressing the inequity of some Seattle schools receiving funding for staff from their PTAs while others do not. 

The Montlake PTA has been donating money to other schools in the community, like Lowell and the SE Seattle Schools Fundraising Alliance in recent years. In this year’s PTA budget, we have committed to donate 10% of our total expense budget to schools that do not have significant PTA fundraisers.  To be transparent, we are asking donors to also donate to the Equity Fund when donating to the Annual Fund. We also want to create awareness that the Montlake PTA donates money to other schools and that PTA fundraising is inequitable even among the schools raising funds.

Why do some PTAs pay for staff? The short answer is because public schools have been historically underfunded. However, all schools could use additional staff but not all schools have PTAs that can afford to pay for staff positions. It is important to know that change is needed at the district and state level so that schools can meet the needs of their students. Advocacy for these reforms is the real solution, but it takes time.

What PTAs pay for can inform what changes are needed for all schools. This year, we will be sharing information on how to advocate so that all schools can receive what our PTA is funding for Montlake:

• Art teachers in every school.
• More resources for students with learning differences: more staff and better ways to identify students with learning needs.
• Better basic funding for the smallest elementary schools in our district. That is, more administrative staff and specialists for small schools.