Parents, PTAs warn proposed Policy 6-10 changes would curb in-school fundraising and speakers

Dozens of parents, PTA leaders and volunteer officers spoke at the Virginia Beach School Board’s June 9 meeting to oppose proposed language changes to Policy 6-10 that would bar guest speakers and fundraiser activities during the school day.

The speakers said the change would sharply reduce parent-led fundraising that supports field trips, classroom supplies and student programs — and would especially harm lower-resource (Title I) schools where daytime events are the only reliable way for many families to participate.

Susan Berman, identified as a PTA president of one of the division’s largest elementary schools, told the board the proposed language “would prohibit guest speakers during the school day and explicitly prohibits fundraising during the school day as well.” Berman said fun runs and other events conducted during PE periods generate “tens of thousands of dollars” that PTAs reallocate by parent vote to items such as microscopes for STEM labs, field trips and library books.

Tara Campbell, president of the Virginia Beach Council of PTAs and a classroom teacher at Point of View Elementary School, said her school raises roughly $15,000 each year from a single in-school fundraiser that “funds every single event that we do,” including teacher appreciation, after-school enrichment and scholarships. “That one effort funds every single event that we do from trunk or treat to holiday celebrations, movie nights, the talent show,” Campbell said. She added the fundraiser “takes no more than 5 minutes per day of school time” and enables events “at no cost to our families.”

Jessica Bueno, vice president of the Princess Anne Middle School PTA, described classroom and program purchases paid for with school-day fundraising: instruments for music programs, oyster beds and greenhouse supplies for science, permanent equipment in tech ed, and transportation for college visits. “PTA provided scholarship money to graduating Virginia Beach seniors totaling $15,000 in just my 5 years,” she said.

Kristen Walsh, PTA president at John B. Dye Elementary and a District 8 voter, said fundraising “does not reduce learning or affect academic outcomes” and argued that fundraising is central to parent engagement and school community building. Lauren Cielo, PTA leader and volunteer, said in-school events are especially important to military families whose schedules outside school hours are unpredictable.

Speakers urged the board to decline to forward the proposed language to the Policy Review Committee or to the full board for adoption, saying other policies and the existing framework already govern fundraising and guest speakers. Several speakers asked the board to work directly with PTAs to craft any needed clarifications rather than prohibitions.

At the meeting Camie Linetti, school board attorney, presented several Policy Review Committee items to the board but did not present a final board vote on changes to Policy 6-10 during the public-comment portion. No board motion or vote to adopt the proposed policy language was recorded in the public portion of the June 9 meeting.

Board members and administration did not vote on Policy 6-10 at the meeting; several board members asked administration and PRC for further engagement with PTAs and for the proposal to be reviewed more thoroughly before any formal action.

The public-comment speakers asked that the board preserve the ability of PTAs to hold school-day fundraisers and to host nonacademic guest speakers, saying those activities support school programs, parent decision-making about PTA spending, and equitable participation across families.

The item remains at the discussion stage; the transcript does not show a board vote or regulation adopted on Policy 6-10 at the June 9 meeting.