Boxford PTO accused of excluding students from elementary school dance
BOXFORD - An elementary school dance in Boxford has led to accusations that the town's parent teacher organization (PTO) is excluding children who may be less fortunate.
Tickets for the "Ziti with your Sweetie" dance sold out in 25 minutes after going on sale. One parent was told they could get early access to events if they paid for a premium membership in their tiered system. The top tier is $100 for maximum benefits.
"Even though my family quite frankly could have afforded this, I actually don't believe in that. There shouldn't be a barrier for entry for any family," says Hannah Selinger, whose son is an elementary school student.
She believes this practice excludes children and their parents if they are not financially secure. In a statement from the PTO, we learned the dance only had 300 tickets. The PTO told us that 357 children are paid members, but 86 people had high enough tier access to buy the tickets four days before they went on sale. There were 274 tickets available when sales opened.
Greater access was limited due to financial and volunteer hurdles for the event. The PTO says they knew that all 700 students and their parent or guardian would not be able to attend.
"I reached out to the PTO and their response was that I should put myself on the waitlist. I responded, 'I said I don't care about the dance. That's not my objection. My objection is that there are members of the community, not talking about myself, who are financially excluded,'" Selinger said.
"As feelings came in on Facebook posts, it seemed everyone supported the PTO and everyone believed what the PTO was fine, and to pay and have more access," Selinger continued. "More and more people started reaching out to me privately saying we don't think this is OK, but we have never had a way of expressing this. What I am seeking to gain is equity in the school system for people who are not like my family, who I suspect don't have a voice."
The PTO says they do not exclude students from membership or events. They say the tier system of membership levels is designed for every household circumstance despite the higher tiered members having early access and additional benefits.
Proceeds from the premium memberships go to support programs at the elementary school. You can read the PTO's entire statement by clicking here.