WSD bans fundraising for school field trips

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WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s largest school division no longer permits door-to-door fundraising or related activities to pay for building renovations and field trip expenses in communities across central Winnipeg.

The Winnipeg School Division’s policy on fundraising, which was updated right before the winter break, formerly permitted community members to seek financial donations to “supplement their school budgets.”

“We still can fundraise in the school division, but it needs to be targeted, it needs to be inclusive and it needs to be for things that are outside of the purview of public education,” Supt. Matt Henderson told the Winnipeg Free Press.

The division will allow parent advisory councils to raise cash to pay for student camps, but they are barred from fundraising to cover the cost of textbooks, educational excursions and other core learning expenses.

The policy also prohibits prizes to reward students who collect large sums and campaign participation draws.

“Schools, families and learners are asked to think deeply about the implications, barriers and purpose for any fundraising project, and to ensure that the focus is not on the day-to-day classroom resources,” states an excerpt from the new three-page document.

École Laura Secord School has historically held fundraisers to support teacher wish-lists, lunch programs and extracurricular program expenses for needy families, among other initiatives.

Last year, the parent advisory council at the Wolseley elementary school raised upwards of $30,000.

“I’m not sure how he is going to make up that difference … (Henderson) has a lot of experience in the education system. As a teacher, he knows what he’s talking about, but I don’t see a solid plan for this,” said Stephanie Wenger, chair of the council.

Parents want to know how the division plans to top-up school budgets to fund basic necessities they have paid for in the past, said Wenger, who has two children, the eldest of whom is in Grade 3 at Laura Secord.

“We could adopt a sister school that doesn’t have as strong of a fundraising base and we could support them,” the parent said.

The new rules only allow fundraising to support programs and experiences that are not covered by provincial or divisional budgets.

The Manitoba government allocates per-pupil funding for general instruction, as well as school transportation and special education resources, every year.

The 2025-26 allotments will be announced within the month. The announcement is anticipated to include permanent changes to address criticisms that the longtime equalization formula fails to address inequities between school division property tax bases.

Henderson said WSD will build its budget accordingly, but leaders are optimistic their school budgets will be able to cover art supplies, field trips and related expenses next year.

The fundraising policy was approved by the board of trustees on Dec. 16. It was last reviewed in January 2018.

Henderson, who has been at the helm of WSD since August 2023, has been vocal about his concerns surrounding “unfettered fundraising” and its inequitable impact on roughly 30,000 students attending classes in central Winnipeg.

The superintendent takes issue with the acceptance of perceived “good schools” and “bad schools,” and on a related note, allowing families to raise money to reduce costs and bolster basic operations at their local public schools.

He said he wants school staff and families to question status quo practises and the updated guidance reflects that.

Fundraising has long resulted in disparities between programming and playground infrastructure in low-income and high-income neighbourhoods.

Last year, the WSD board office took on the responsibility of paying for outdoor play area upgrades in lieu of relying on volunteer-run councils to cover them.

Five elementary schools, including Shaughnessy Park, Pinkham, Wellington, River Elm and Prairie Rose, underwent board-funded playground renovations over the summer.

These renewals, which began on the oldest playgrounds, are slated to continue at three schools every year.

Parent councils and schools can still apply for external grants to speed up these projects and related ones, Henderson noted.

The superintendent said volunteer-run groups of parents will continue to play a critical role in advising school administrators on hyperlocal challenges and collecting donations where appropriate.

While acknowledging many parents want to actively support their kids’ schools and he supports that, Henderson said he wants to spark a wider discussion about what Manitobans and the provincial government should fund.

He said his overarching goal is to reduce barriers for families, especially those who live in poverty and have kept children home from school on past field trip days to avoid embarrassment because they could not pay fees.

» Winnipeg Free Press