Adam Mini: Low participation may mean the end of Gilmanton PTA

To The Daily Sun,

In spring of 2020, I was surprised to learn just how much the Gilmanton PTA contributes towards programs within the school. For the past several years, the Gilmanton PTA has donated an average of more than $13,000 directly into student activities. This includes paying for field trips, Artist in Residency, Naturalist in the Classroom, etc. A breakdown of the expenses can be found here: https://bit.ly/3bQTxll. In some cases, these expenses are directly related to a shared expense portion on the school budget. Without the support, the programs would either have to be cancelled or completely funded by taxpayers.

In spring of 2020, I was preparing a letter (like this) but then the pandemic hit and the topic seemed to get deprioritized. Prior to the pandemic, the Gilmanton PTA has been dealing with low participation from Gilmanton parents and fundraisers that aren’t as lucrative (compared to the effort). In the current climate, the reality is that the organization will become inactive at the end of the current school year (June 2021).

If you have students in the Gilmanton school and appreciate the things that the PTA provides, please consider getting involved. For many (me included), I had no idea how much of their fundraising is directly tied to educational opportunities in the classroom. Gilmanton has a great sense of community and coming together when needed. I hope that we can all come together to help this organization so they can continue to better our children’s lives at Gilmanton School. My kids are all older but I would hate to see the younger children lose out on these great opportunities provided by the PTA because of a lack of participation.

Gilmanton PTA: www.facebook.com/GilmantonSchoolPta

gilmantonschoolpta@gmail.com.

Thanks,

Adam Mini

Gilmanton