Susan Burger

Behavior

Unwelcomed Donations?

My son’s PUBLIC school had been very diverse, accepting about 50% of the students from outside the catchment area.

We have attended the annual auction at his school since 2004. Each year the number of auction items and the amount bid on auction items increased. Last year, some of the kindergarten projects sold for over $1000. Bill Telepan offered to cook a dinner for six that went for $7,000 and then offered two more dinners that sold for the same amount.

My husband has solicited auction donations for many years, but this year he was finding that many businesses on his contact list had gone bankrupt. A few months before the auction, the committee sent out a panicky notice about the lack of donations. Thus, you can imagine our surprise when more items were available and more people attended this year’s auction than in any previous year. The three Bill Telepan dinners went for $9,000 each.

The most plausible explanation is that more families who would have sent their children to private schools are attending this school. There is no longer enough room for all the children who live IN the catchment area to attend to attend my son’s school.

PS87, 160 West 78th St.