Though I volunteer for several civic and municipal organizations in Killingworth, I have never been a member of the PTO. I come to their defense after having benefited, through my children, from many PTO sponsored activities. I believe that Ms. Biliades Rioja's apparent irritation with the KES PTO is misplaced. The PTO cares about our children; that is why they have volunteered and have formed their organization. The many and diverse PTO sponsored activities make the schools more pleasant for our children, enrich the lives of our children, and in some indirect way instill community pride in our children.
Is Ms. Biliades Rioja complaining about the school budget not covering the cost of school landscaping or is she complaining because she feels pressure to participate in School Beautification Day and her child does not want to participate in this activity? Both are legitimate concerns. The reason for this note is not to respond to the first concern, I leave that to the Board of Education or other school officials, but perhaps I can provide another point of view on the second concern. My family has participated in many PTO sponsored activities: Book Fairs, Art Shows, Festival of the Arts, etc. We never felt pressured to participate in fundraisers or any other volunteer activities. We all have very busy lives and cannot participate in every single PTO activity, and the PTO knows that. That is why they organize so many different activities. As parents we need to pick the activities that we can and cannot participate in, and if our children do not wish to participate in a seemingly required activity, maybe we ask them what they would like to do for School Beautification Day. I'll bet they can come up with some pretty great ideas that can make both the children and parents proud.
I'm glad that the PTO in our community is so active. That shows how much they care about our children. It's not so important what other town's PTOs and schools do, I don't live there. I give high kudos to our local PTO.
Dan Colonia