Jackson Jambalaya

I grew up poor and remember the pain when my parents could not afford the "extras" during my high school days. This is just stupid. No child in a public school should not face this social discrimination. I see a lawsuit coming.

How about I just put a copy of my cancelled property tax check on the dash of my son's car? That should suffice as a parking permit - y'think?

I am a parent of a student and called immediately. The person I spoke with was very pleasant but could not direct me to anyone in charge of this fleecing. We give to the PTO but not $500 for exclusive parking? This is a public school right? I assume this will be fixed immediately .

No way, Kingfish! This policy is only to increase safety and security and to follow the policy of other schools! It has NOTHING to do with making parents of MCHS students drop another $500 + the cost of the pass! :-P

I'm surprised they aren't selling PSLs (or PPLs, such as it is).

So the wealthy get great parking but if you are not fortunate enough to be able to donate a lot of money to the PTO then go to the back of the bus. I also agree kingfish that my tax dollars went to pay for that lot and now they are charging for it.

Real question is, what do they do with the money?

So a student has to have a PTO membership paid for before their assigned a parking spot? Ouch....sounds like extortion. Gubmint is getting tight, and it's coming after yo' money.

Yeah and they paid for the football stadium, too, but you still have to buy a ticket to see a game.

I have three kids in private school. This is hilarious. A parking spot is the only th8ng I don’t pay for.

We had assigned parking at my high school. It was free. Who the hell wants to pay $550 in PTO membership? What does that gets you? A gold encrusted pineapple?

Lawsuit to commence soon. Next thing you know, they will be auctioning classroom spots for the good teachers.

You could be looking at a ponzi scheme in its infancy. Or it might be an chance for Costco to get a new building site.

Follow the money.

Apparently, courses in group dynamics and adolescent psychology are not required for educators these days.

It worked pretty well to do first to school, best parking space 55 years ago at my high school as getting teens out of bed early is a challenge.

But, also worked by then to give seniors assigned with GPA as determining the best spots and not allowing freshmen spots at all.

I suppose, the way we are going where money is everything and where personal achievement and character don't matter will prepare kids for the real world we are creating for them.

New lyrics: " Your daddy's rich so your mommas are good looking and you, little baby, will never have to work".

Kingfish asked ..." Pardon me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Madison County taxpayers already pay for that parking lot with property taxes and bonds?"

Yes, I believe they did, but should taxpayers be required to keep up the maintenance on the parking lot and also provide busses to transport children to school?
Look at every high school parking lot crammed with cars because the kids just don't think it's cool to ride in the big yellow cheesewagon anymore.

I’m with you on this Kingfish...maybe they are using their money to repair bridges in Madison County, because Hinds county sure blew it.

They do the same thing at Mountain Brook HS in Birmingham.

It's for safety and security of course...

This is another reason I am glad my children go to school in Hinds County.

Yes, but the exclusive right to use that space will cost a little bit extra.

Oh boy this will get interesting fleecing the students and parents of Madison Central!!!

Yep. Got my email yesterday and I was NOT happy

Good to know that in a public school where all students are supposed to be equal, that the rich can still buy advantages for their kids.

Bet most parents would rather put that $500 toward the car they're having to help little Johnny get. In fact, my 1st HS car didn't cost much more than $500!

Cool your jets people. It's a fundraiser for the PTO. Many schools do similar things across the country. Some schools even allow you to paint and decorate "your space". If you want the prime spot, you pony up and pay more. Not unlike many of you do for "your space" at State, Ole Miss, or Southern Miss for football and baseball.

Google school parking spots. It's kind of a cool idea to raise money. Where's the public outcry when you have to put change in a parking meter on a city street? Haven't your taxes paid for that too?

I am thinking about paying $1000 for my "PTO membership". I want little Johnny to not only get the best parking spot but I want to get him the premium GPA package too. Does the $1000 sponsorship level come with the "My child has more money than your honor student" t-shirt or do I need to go up? You know I need that.

Shouldn't they put students' names in a hat and draw for parking places with the seniors being the first to draw for the better places ?

No different than an establishment MSGOP fundraiser. You pay for a private audience with your favorite RINO and get to kiss their ring.

Yep, and before long Madison Central High School will be like the "Universities" in MS, selling more parking passes than they have spaces, then fining tuition paying students and parents via parking tickets when students have nowhere to park.

And these are the people teaching our kids!

Geez,
I have 3 kids at Jackson prep... I live in northeast Jackson but my daughter is a junior and lives with her mom in Madison. I'd much rather pay this than the tuition I pay for the other 3. Although she will send me an email asking for this money by tomorrow I assure you!

I am a parent of Madison Central children and I love my school, but this is the worst idea I have ever seen and I am completely embarrassed that the PTO and our leadership didn’t realize just how discriminatory this is. I was one of the people who called and complained yesterday and was given the run-around. No one knew (or they said they didn’t) who was in charge of this. Schools are competitive enough and our kids have to worry about everything from ACT scores to getting to the state championships to didn’t bring my lunch today? Now we want them to park based on how much Biff and Bitsy’s mom gave to the PTO. How bout a good old fashioned bake sale or sell that dang wrapping paper again?

What concerns me the most is that the leadership just doesn’t get it. There is NOTHING about this that is fair or a good idea. NOTHING. And we look absolutely ridiculous. Way to go, PTO. Way to go.

Its been going on since at least 1986 in El Cajon and they use the money in ways that benefit all students such as to offset the cost of the prom. http://articles.latimes.com/1986-11-23/local/me-12478_1_high-school-seniors

This is why we're moving to Hinds County and enrolling our kids in JPS.

Honestly people we need the extra money. Our Jumbotron score board is not as good as Germantown and we need to catch up. Geez people.

Help me out, Golfer.

Show me where there is a compulsory attendance law for a college, any college.

Additionally, show me where college students pay an additional fee for prime parking space that isn't game day related, because I think you're confusing optional weekend activities with a small flat fee for a weekday parking decal.

In the poorest state in the nation, we have a public school selling parking spaces in a public lot to the highest bidder. Instead of being ashamed for their obvious greed and pride, looks like the PTO is digging in for a fight for those $. Their reasoning behind the cash grab is flimsy. The taxpayer paid and will continue to pay for that pavement. Security is handled through a parking decal that's inexpensive to produce. There are other ways for the PTO to raise funds. This isn't it.

And to the current members of the PTO who are unhappy with this, my suggestion to you would be to request a full accounting of all funds within the past 24 months. Expenses listed not by category but by payee. They are required by law to release that info.

Thankfully none of my grandkids are at MCHS. If they were I could certainly afford to pay $500 for a parking space. Having said that, I certainly would not do so. I could, however, afford to have my attorney sue the pants off the school board and PTO leadership. It is totally wrong to put less fortunate students in this situation. Maybe the folks in Madison need to look at unelecting some school board members.

WTF is a drug consent form?

"Yes, I believe they did, but should taxpayers be required to keep up the maintenance on the parking lot and also provide busses to transport children to school?
Look at every high school parking lot crammed with cars because the kids just don't think it's cool to ride in the big yellow cheesewagon anymore. "

I was told that it would not be a good idea for my kid to ride the demographically challenged bus as he would be the only kid of his race on the bus for my route. Yes--by one of the head administrators of that school. I was told that the majority demographic would fight with him and he should not be encouraged to fight back as he would be disciplined harshly.

The people all up in the PTO couldn't run their own lives efficiently but they got this covered. Raising money for PTO was not working very good so they are going Clinton Style and selling things the public owns. A private group selling the use of public property. Sad that this can be allowed. Socialism at its finest.

Forget discrimination or unfair this and that. This is, simply put, a shakedown.

I would like to see the deed that says the PTO owns the parking spaces and can rent them out.

My question is the PTO a private organization or is it school ran? Do the proceeds go directly to the school or the organization? When I was in school, the PTO was Parent funded and organized and was just a lobbying arm from the parents/students to the school. The money collected stayed with the PTO. Is this a private(possibly non profit-but still) entity making money off of a public resource?

The good news is the students and teachers are madder about this than the parents. They realize this is exactly what it looks like - entitlement at its finest. Several students came home and told parents to not worry about a parking space and to not even join the PTO. I love my son as much as the next person. It’s that love that keeps me from writing a $500 check for a parking space. Big picture guys. Empathy, compassion, fair treatment to all, and just plain good financial sense. Swing and a miss on this one, PTO.

Big snort at 8:47! HAHAHAHA!!

I think that the fundraiser would have been better received if they had just raffled off 10 premium spots for 10 dollars a piece. Most everyone who own a car can afford a 10 Dollar ticket. You sell 1000 tickets and that’s 10,000 and 10 people are randomly selected! Then you can choose to participate and have an equal chance to win. And guess what....You raise more money than this way....

The most you have to pay for any of this is $35 for the parking decal. If you want to be in a certain spots you pay more. This is the world in which we live. Yes, when I was in school we didn't do this, we parked where we could find spaces. If you didn't have a car, you rode with someone or rode a bus.

8:56, I wasn't referencing parking, but how for baseball and football people pay more for prime seats. It's the same as this, if you don't want to pay, there's always cheaper options.

Yes, there's compulsory school attendance rules for K-12 and not college, but schools charge for all sorts of things now. Supplies, technology fees, graduation cap and gown rentals, and alas parking...

Yes we're a poor state. So lets not allow the PTO to raise any money. Problem solved. Glad you thought of that.

PTOs do a lot of things that many people don't even have a clue about. Yeah, there's sports related items (jumbotrons, etc) often paid for by booster clubs not PTO, but there's also a myriad of behind the scenes items that lazy, complaining parents that never set foot in the school and complain about everything, never see. How many of the complaining parents attend PTO meetings? Volunteer to serve on committees? I am sure they'll show up to complain, but are "too busy" or "unavailable" for the meetings.

I don't have kids in MC schools, but I'm active in the PTO where I live. I can see both sides of the argument, and think people are getting bent out of shape.

9:17 gets it. Just don't join and pay $35 decal fee instead.

Not your problem if the PTO loses money on their own bad idea.

Hey, MCHS, I am interested in paying for a space. Please tell me to whom to assign my timber harvesting rights contract. It's worth millions, I'm told and earns a healthy 12+ percent annually.

8:58. The drug consent form is filled out by the parents and the kid and allows your child to be part of random drug testing at the school and at dances etc. Fairly common in most schools these days.

This whole thing is insane. Madison Central's current parking set up has no reserved spaces, only reserve lots. As a sophomore, you park in the back. Juniors move closer and the Senior lot is right in front of the school. It's a perk of being a Senior. Thank God my kid is graduating. I would've really lost it if I had received this email.

I can already see Eric Cartman laughing. "Haha Kenny, you're poor!"

Hilarious. Heaven forbid little Bradley be forced to walk a little further each day to get to his leased Chevy Silverado with a lift kit and pipes!

Remember "The wheels on the bus go round and round".
So ride the bus to school and forget about the parking fees.
Problem solved.
Glad I could help.
Now, about you whinny grown ups....take a dose of a new vitamin supplement that helps you act like a grown up. It's called growacet.

This is deeply troubling and no doubt true. Brings me back to thoughts of my golf game, it's not very good but certainly getting better. My instant analogy flows something like this. I went to school in rural Mississippi and the only way you could be on the golf team was to be a member of the local country club. Poor kids and black kids also had a heckuva time finding a good pool to learn to swim in. This taught me a couple of valuable lessons. First, get a good job, get into a good country club and swing those clubs like no tomorrow without ever looking “down” at anyone. Secondly, get your education and get the Hell out of Mississippi (return for duck season, occasional holidays and an occasional pass through Dixie). This action involving young, impressionable adults is pure social stratification. Though likely used to pay for a Jumbotron or something of equal utility all condoned by top heavy "school administrators" and administered the "PTO", (a mysterious organization with social and political tentacles that would have even old "Big Jim" Eastland scratching his head as to how it works). Though today, I’m well educated and still in the south, seeing a spot in a taxpayer paid parking lot sold, further dividing the “haves” and “have nots” seems distant, almost foreign and certainly wrong.

Are we talking about "leasing a parking space"?.....who say's they have control over such a PUBLIC SPACE

To those defending this, obviously students taking the bus is an option for every student. To golfer, there is a difference between paying for supplies or lab fees which I assume are replacement costs and paying for the right to park on an already paved parking lot. My issues with this is that the scheme is patently discriminatory. Why ostracize those that cannot afford $500 for VIP treatment? This is disgusting and extremely misguided. I will be stunned if this is not rescinded.

Alicia Knotts is the chair of the parking committee and behind this new fee schedule. Her contact info can be found on the MC website under the PTO tab. I hope people will contact her and Principal Austin Brown abrown@madison-schools.com to voice their disapproval.

My school did this when I was in high school. We had to have our car "registered" to bring it on campus. Made sense to me...

It's for the children.

I offered to pay for my PTO membership with timber rights, but a few attorneys had already made that pitch and apparently the PTO board members were not open to that any longer...go figure. So then I offered to pay with a brand new Yeti cooler for the PTO president. He emphatically said YES and offered my little Kelsee first choice of spaces for her BMW, as long as I included the stickers for the rear window.

Golfer, your college analogy keeps getting worse. We aren't talking about stadiums, we're talking parking. College stadiums have boatloads of private funding poured into them. Ergo, tiered pricing for seats.

This particular parking lot was fully funded by taxpayers, therefore no tiered pricing for spaces.

It's really that simple.

Now if you wanna go all drama queen and say let's not raise money for public schools that's on you. Nobody else has mentioned it.

Show leadership in this situation. Make sure the teachers and all other school personnel are also paying for parking.

I guess those pristine, never muddy, $80k trucks that all the good parents of Madison County buy their sons are tearing up the asphalt. Reap what ya sow.

If the PTO wants to create an air of exclusivity and the "it" thing to do, I hope the parents join together in solidarity and opt for the decal-only option. Save your $40 for a family meal at Newk's.

Two fingers in the air to the PTO and all the cool kids are hanging out in the back lot.

Be sure to compare the year end membership numbers once the 2018-19 school year is over. Sometimes lessons have to be learned the hard way.

MCHS has been selling parking decals for years and giving the money to the PTO. This was no-doubt an ill-advised plan to raise more money for the PTO, but for all the conspiracy theorists and anarchists that post to this site, the money is being used for school improvement projects. From the PTO president's Fall 2017 letter:

"With your financial support through membership, purchasing parking decals and t-shirts, our PTO is able to provide yearly scholarships to senior students, celebrations for academic achievements, and monthly staff appreciation lunches to the administration and teachers. Last school year, we combined efforts with the school and Big Blue to purchase security cameras. The PTO also purchased an additional eight cameras later in the school year. This year, our goal is to equip classrooms with LED projectors by replacing the existing halogen projectors being used."

This may would have gone over a little easier if it was plainly stated as a fundraiser and the proceeds go to "XXXXXXXXX". I'd like to know how many driving students are at MC? Where were the funds going to be spent? You know someone "in the know" is reading this right now and have the answers. I have the means to spend $500 on each of my children. I'll be dammed if it's on a racket like this. What if I am a student who has no parents to be in the PTO? I guess I just give them money and pick a spot, or I get shafted.

ride the bus!

So a parent has to pay for their child to park at school so the PTO can "provide yearly scholarships to senior students, celebrations for academic achievements". This is ridiculous and has nothing to do with security. It is a scam, plain and simple. All those students who drive should simply make the bus take them to school. When the district realizes how much it will cost them in transportation fees they will drop this ridiculous and possibly illegal idea.

doubt if on could zone a offsite parking lot with shuttle buses. doesn't stuff like this come up at school board meetings, knowing Mississippi has a horrible system, starting at the top. punished for voting for Goldwater in 64.

Why is the decal money going to the PTO and not the school/district. The district paid for the parking lot and all monies collected from its use ought to go to the school/district. Security should be handled by the school/district and not an outside organization no matter how good intentioned it is. The PTO should by teacher and staff rewards.

The a Flora children don’t have internet for the most part. The ones with cars will not have a way to buy a space since it’s all on line.Those children already feel left out due to the wealth of a few. Now they have to park out at the baseball fields because they are poor. When they had the kindness ralley a few weeks ago, those same PTO parents talked about treating each other with indifference and kindness! Way to talk out of both sides of your mouth.

This only works if you also charge to ride the bus to school.

They have a lot of ideas, problem is, they just don’t think them through.

Madison County is going to hell in a handbasket!!! Time to FLEE!!!!

I have purchased decals for the past three years. I honestly had no idea it went to the PTO. I assumed it went directly to the school. There is something fundamentally wrong with a taxpayer- paid parking lot being used by a private organization who rents the spaces to minors just trying to go to class. It’s a public school! We are absolutely dividing these kids between the haves and the have nots. It’s just not a lesson I want to teach any of my children. Why would a parent-run organization do ANYTHING to cause resentment, self-doubt or division? Extracurricular activities can understandably be used to gain a little extra money, but parking spaces that kids NEED, no way. I am saddened by the choices of this PTO. An apology should be issued immediately and this program scrapped.

The PTO now needs to do some serious damage control. My email and phone have been overrun with people demanding we take a stand against the PTO and not participate. I know the good the PTO does and want to support it, but if they continue with this knowing how people feel, then action is warranted. The students have already taken a stand and are starting and signing petitions.

Let’s assume this was an unfortunate well-intentioned mistake. Fix it, apologize and let’s move on. The digging in of heels makes this so much worse and will become irreparable. Come on, PTO. Do the right thing.

@10:02- I do not see Alicia Knotts name on the PTO excutive board, to get an emaila address. Although I wonder if she is fully responsible or the poor sap the board forced into the job.

Stalin would be very proud of this shakedown. People be damned.

They left out a tier:

Pineapple Flag Contributor - $1000 or free after a home visit from no fewer than 2 PTO board members. First pick of space, a gift card to Romantic Adventures, and a discount on rooms at the HGI on 471.

Only residents of Reunion are eligible.

I've got big money in the bank, so this doesn't bother me at all. I called the school and said "What will $2500.00 get me?". They said for that amount they would take the handicap parking space away from the kid in the wheelchair and let my able-bodied son have it. For an additional $5000.00 annual payment, my son also gets to bang the PTO president once a month. She's a real MILF. Having money is nice! You peasants should envy me!

I think the problem here is whoever was in charge of the distribution of information. It is an embarrassing disaster. Had this been presented as a added membership bonus, we may could have worked it through it. Instead, it appears to be an exclusive opportunity for the richer children. This whole thing has been an embarrassment to our school, our students and the PTO. Madison Central is exceptional in all areas. But boy do we sure look like ignorant, arrogant jackasses today. This could have been avoided.

It would benefit everyone in this thread to read the book The High Cost of Free Parking.

Here's a quick highlight.

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/business/economy/15view.html

So what would happen if people simply parked in these spaces without paying for the damned decal or dues? Would their vehicle be impounded did or towed? Would they be arrested for trespassing? I don't think a student, visitor or faculty member should have any say so whatsoever on any parking except for handicapped spaces.
This is public school land.....tow my car and I will bring a civil suit against any and all the school board members and PTO board members.....I may lose but it will personally cost them big bucks.
Does anyone know of any legal precedent?
If may be common practice at other schools but so was government condoned racial discrimination just a few decades ago. This is more than economic discrimination.
Whoever thought this up must have been born to a well to do family and has never had to worry about paying the rent, light bill or been hungry because of lack of money for groceries.......A Madison resident

12:42, there is not a Hilton Garden Inn on Hwy 471. Perhaps you mean 463? Either way...swing and a miss.

WOW, I care more about what we are teaching our children.

Golfer, please stick to golf. It doesn't matter how PTOs ( which used to be PTAs) raise money. It matters that their function has changed. It matters that parents can now buy influence so teachers and principals will be reluctant to punish little Johnnie or Jane or give them the grades they really earned.

PTOs can have bake sales or garage sales galore or any other thing that doesn't allow a parent to buy his child a privilege the other students can't afford.

We are making the worship of money official. Religious leaders will get richer and become bigger celebrities and place of worship become more entertaining because what we're really interested in is guilt free worship of the money.

Hey Kingfish, they say "This policy is to increase safety and security
on campus and to follow the policy set by other high schools in the district.", can you or some other journalist reading this do a little research on what other high schools in the area are doing?

Typical Madison jackassery.

Just another scam to line the pockets of a few.

@WOW -1:00pm- You seriously did not just refer us all to that link. I quit reading after the first 3 or 4 paragraphs. It has nothing to do with this link.

@12:53. You are exactly right. The PTO at Madison Central has made our wonderful school look like a bunch of snobs and pompous jack-asses in writing. They have single handed made the school, the district look fools. I guess the principal should be ashamed of himself as well for approving this or not putting a stop to it.

I wish there were like buttons under comments.

I know there is some joking going on in here, but I have zero issues with this.

Its a fundraiser for the PTO. Its not required. I would much rather write a check for $40 or $100 (which is what most parents will do - they'll be less than 15 that will donate at the higher levels) than sell a bunch of cookie dough and crap.

My high school, 30 years ago, auctioned off the first parking spot as a fundraiser. Usually went for north of $1000 and we were in a rural, poor area. At no point did I feel any contempt for the girl whose parents wrote that check. This jealousy epidemic is the root of many of the problems we have today.

It is wrong to have PTO events on campus during school hours and students can’t go unless they sell a box of candy for the PTO. Students from low income households are treated like second class citizens and it needs to stop.

Discriminating to MCHS students? Not even close. But, if you’re really interested (and concerned) about any discrimination against other District schools and their students, start with the ACT/PSAT prep program that Madison Central High School refuses to share with other District schools. This discriminatory practice is costing other District students (and their parents) millions of dollars in available scholarship funds along with numerous college entrance opportunities! It’s been ongoing for 20 years under the current administration.

https://www.madison-schools.com/cms/lib/MS01001041/Centricity/Domain/603/2017-18PTOupdatedforwebsite.pdf

If the board had properly communicated this fund raising effort, perhaps it would not have come off feeling like a shake down. They should have separated joining the PTO with a fund raiser. As it stands, a very insensitive person was in charge of this communication. Need to fix this...

Our Daughter Buffy drives a new BMW convertible to high school. We'd like to know if we can build a garage over her parking space, and if so will it need to incorporate Corinthian Columns or a Strawberry motif? Will we need to submit our construction plans before the Architectural Review Board? Thanks in advance.

WOW - 1:00 pm - your parking article is ridiculous... we are talking about tax payer funded grounds in Mississippi. MCHS has a hundred acres of parking... We are not out of space for parking here in the south.

This is a great idea. These better people, with means, the result of being self made men, will embrace this. Job creators and entrepreneurs, and their offspring, would relish the opportunity to wait till midnight to acquire a true value, a premier exclusive spot, as an upscale reward in our meritocracy. Great means to focus on new sports revenue generation in a disruptive deployment of a deep dive looking at monetizing the consumer parking place. This market driven underutilized space utilization is a brilliant way to hone the Jaguar brand. Props to our 3rd Gen Madtown-Bricktown future CEOs (inherited wealth division).

I’m a former student at MC and I think there is a misconception about what this is:
1.) MC has always required students who drive to school to purchase a decal which, after this, is still (and has always been) $35
2.) the big numbers are for the purchase of different levels of pto membership. They are not required to purchase a $35 parking decal
3.) the high end memberships only allow for family’s to basically purchase decals in bulk (in a situation where they might have more than one student at MC) and allows them to choose their parking spot early. It’s simply a perk (albeit an expensive and unnecessary one)
4.) there will be PLENTY of parking spaces left for students to choose from WITHOUT them or their parents having to purchase a pro membership. The parking lots are huge and there are probably only a handful of students with parents that could afford such a membership for a high school
5.) this is not social discrimination. Students are not forced to ride the bus if they can’t afford one of the pto membership. The system is still based on class order starting with seniors and working its way down since seniors are more likely to be able to drive. The only difference now is that parents and students can choose to pay extra to choose a better parking spot. The reason we have to pa
6.) the price to park on campus still stands at $35 a year. For most that is about two weeks of gas money. That is a fairly reasonable price for good parking. If you’re theyre for school, then simply being able to park on campus is a plus that is worth the $35.
7.) don’t get me wrong, it still sucks that anyone has to pay for a parking spot that’s already been paid for but for all you parents out there thinking you’re about to have to pay $500, hopefully this will clear things up

If so many kids are driving themselves, how is the funding assessed to determine how many school buses are actually needed for each school? Sounds like a lot of money is going down the drain, or maybe into someone's pockets.....

@2:43 why in this earth should Madison share their program with anyone? Go out and do your own legwork, work to implement a program that is YOURS and stop whining. YOU are what is wrong with this world today. You want people to do the work for you. You blame Madison for other people not getting scholarship money?!?! Go out and earn it yourself.

1:00 - Where's the article about the high cost of free buses? Would like to see how those two compare.

Will they be deducting money from the teachers pay for their assigned parking spots? How much is the principal paying for reserved parking?

I get this could look snooty but It is just a way to encourage pto membership and a fundraiser to make the school better. You will not be denied a parking spot if you don’t give extra but the ones that do will get a better spot and get first choice. We pay taxes in madison county and my 2 kids went to mc and it is an excellent school and I do not have to problem with this. It won’t hurt anyone to walk a little further. We always had to pay a fee for our mc students to park for decal. Sure much better than paying private school tuition and the real estate taxes do not pay for nice little extras needed for teachers day gifts and other extras. There may have been a better way to do this but being a volunteer school leader isn’t easy and neither is fundraising. I did it working full time and many do. It can be a thankless job but makes it better place for our kids. Most often it is the ones that never volunteer or help that complain the loudest. Volunteer to help next year and YOU can be the change you want to see. Just one mom’s opinion. That’s all.

Parking aside, the difference between the $500 Jaguar membership and the $250 Orange membership is a voucher for one MC t-shirt.

So for that extra $250 you get a t-shirt.

It must be made by Yeti.

Y’all keep misspelling $afety and $ecurity.

hey 2:43 "refuse to share" is completely untrue. The fact is that the SAT prep program at MCHS was created by 2 very passionate teachers who have invited others to see what/how they do it. As with most things, the most important element is the people aspect and you simply can't replicate people...yet...

What I don’t understand is why my comments don’t get posted but noe guy talks about banging a MiLF and gets posted. I’m losing my cool on this. I live in Hinds and it’s senseless to see this going on, but to see my mild comments get censored is unreasonable. I do not talk about screwing a teacher but if I talk about Hinds county supervisors screwing us I get censored

Madison County Schools were underfunded by the state by $5.4 million this school year alone. Yes, PTOs often have to pick up some of the slack. Last year, the MC PTO provided surveillance cameras for the parking lot, classroom projectors and PTO scholarships to graduating Seniors. Fundraisers are the key. MC has always had multi-level PTO memberships and has always charged $35 for parking decals - these are the only two fundraisers for the school, as a whole.

When many of us Madison moms ask the PTO if we can volunteer to help, they tell us no, it’s the same 26 that havevrun the board for years. They do not want others to volunteer. So to the mom that said we should get involved, WE ARE SCREAMING TO BE INVOLVED! Let us help!

Hey 8:50 - what’s your name? I’ll get you involved!

I think that the Attorney Generals Office should be contacted.

This does NOT improve the security at all, this school is a JOKE!. number one the cop doesn't check the parking lot he is too busy smoking out back along with the janitors that do not clean the school and have barbaques. Not to mention smoking is a felony on a school bus or school. The principal Mr. Davis lies to our faces on a daily basis, they claim they pave the parking lot but they just paint it Black and repaint the lines which wear off half way through the year making the roads unsafe.there is a massive drug and depression issue in this school and the counselors are clueless. They don't even know what sheets they give us for things. And back to the principal he hosts meetings about "Changing grades" because the parent of the student that did not do the work is upset still not having to do the work. The PTO members are not fit to run it, they have always had their head facing the wrong way for that stuff! We are forced to pay to fix the MacBooks that are forced upon us because they are flawed in design and break on their own. The curriculum is impossible here and forced down our throats. The teachers do not understand that in order for us to get an A here we end up with multiple mental breakdowns and depression fits daily. The money is spent on giving food and parties to these teachers that think they do such a good job and the students see this, what are we left to think? We are worthless in the eyes of this corrupt school. If a school shooter is going to show up they aren't going to know just because there is assigned parking, we are forced to pay 35 dollars for a piece of plastic that has a number printed on it, honestly i feel disgusted knowing this is what the crack heads that run this school come up with. Prom had a live band that no one liked, it's prom! No one wants a live band, people these days get down and dance, ain't nobody twerking to a live instrumental version of baby got back. Why doesn't the PTO pay to get the lunch tray washing machine fixed that's been out for a month? We have to carry 5 things with out bare hands just to eat. They expect us to cut time out of our short lunch to go get our stupid MacBooks check out renewed. This school does not make important announcements for thinks like STATE TESTS! They barely get displacement charts up the day of the test. This school needs all of the staff fired and rehired. Madison central is a joke, it is the worst high school in this state, test scores do not reflect anything!

@4:10 Your post indicates you are snooty. And I am quite offend by your post. This entire policy was set in motion by the rich. Where a $500 is nothing to them. Many on the other hand cant not afford. It is much more fair to say if you pay your dues in advance you get priority parking selection. Maybe raffling/auction of several up close parking spaces would be better way to raise money. The student body was up in arms. I saw 2 different students post petitions against it. They were encouraging parents not to join at all. So guess what it was a bad idea and it back fired.

@4:10 Your post indicates you are snooty. And I am quite offend by your post. This entire policy was set in motion by the rich. Where a $500 is nothing to them. Many on the other hand cant not afford. It is much more fair to say if you pay your dues in advance you get priority parking selection. Maybe raffling/auction of several up close parking spaces would be better way to raise money. The student body was up in arms. I saw 2 different students post petitions against it. They were encouraging parents not to join at all. So guess what it was a bad idea and it back fired.

Hey 10:08 how about a fat NO to giving you my name on this forum!! When I’m at the Reunion Kroger, I’ll have to endure whispers and rejection if I share my name publicly. Why don’t YOU tell your friends that when someone asks to cook, clean, set up, help plan, and/or serve, you smile and say YES! We’d love for you to help. Your group comes off as snobby and unwelcoming. Like it or not, many adults that share in wealth now came from “blue collar” back grounds. We play golf, tennis, host elaborate parties, join ladies clubs, and, with our back ground, we know how to work hard. When you set up systems that promotes “buying your way in” (prime parking), it just makes us dig our heals in and fight back. Also, when you continually tell us we are not wanted on your PTO board, it makes us fight you on your decisions. This is not good public relations or marketing for Madison Central. The rest of the state saw the have nots and the blue collars-done-good fight back. And we won! And we can thank our kids for their petition campaign, as well! We are raising them right!

MC PTO defenders:

A public school PTO should not raise money in such a way that any donor of a current student could be identifiable to the rest of the PTO or faculty or administration or students.

The students ( unlike college) are still legally dependent children and you still are parents.

Parenting is your primary job. As an adult, it's to set a good example.

Buying influence for yourselves or for your children is not good parenting or a good role model. Let them see you labor for PTO. Let them help you with their labors to raise money for PTO or any other " good cause".

Every time you do something FOR your children that they should be able to do for themselves, you rob them of their chance for success and the accompanying sense of pride and accomplishment.

Every time you intervene to prevent the consequences for their mistakes and failures, you ensure that when, as adults and the consequences are more dire, they can't recognize consequences or resolve their own problems.

Every time you organize their activities, you prevent them from learning how to organize.

Every time you assume leadership in their group activities without giving them leadership roles, you rob them of learning to become leaders.

Too many parents these days are living vicariously through their children.

Too many are using their children for their own social agendas.

Too many don't get the difference between guiding and taking over.

It's better to let children do some things imperfectly until they learn perfection, than to never let them learn to do.

My children are in their 40's now. They have successful careers and businesses without our help. Many of their peers, all of whom were bright and capable children, but who had overly involved and controlling parents during their childhood, aren't doing well. The ones with wealthy parents who died young have already or are quickly running through their inheritances . Others have never gotten on their own two feet or are on drugs. It's sad to see and not just because of the waste of these promising lives, but as a bellwether of our future as a society.

So let me get this straight.. all you people can afford a car for your teenager, gas for said car, insurance for said car with teenager rates, yet you are bitching about a $35 fee for a parking pass so the school knows whose car is whose? Seriously? $35 barely fills a tank of gas these days, if you cant afford $35 for a parking pass why is your teenager driving to school in the first place.. take the BUS, its free, and picks you up and drops you off right in front of your house.

@1:34 Then you anti upthe $500 for front door parking. I think $35, as it was, guaranteed your child can park 1.5 miles away. It’s not the $35 we care about; it’s the $500 fee that gave you day one choice of parking.

I think $35 for a decal is ridiculous. I believe most schools are around $5-10.
The $40 to $500 is really stupid.

SOME OF THE POOREST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD HAVE NOTHING BUT MONEY.

@4:58 How do you know this? Who was invited by whom? When?

@4:50, have you been to MC? There is no parking lot that is 1.5 miles from the school.. they are all surrounding it and your $35 fee can get you parked on the school grounds. From what I hear the kids that want to park next to each other are going to take spaces further away from the school anyways so they can park in groups. I'm sure there will be plenty of parking left for everyone else some of it might even be up front.. Get your head out of your ass. And I am not paying $500 to the PTO, we give them $100 and our volunteer time every year. What do you do for the school?

Good one 9:09!

The question was raised during this fire storm of where the money specifically goes. The school is decked out in the latest technology. Do they need more and more? I was told it went to elaborate teacher appreciation dinners. Does it have to be catered? Sounds like parents are willing to cook. So I asked for an itemized line by line spread sheet on this past year’s PTO expenditures. I heard back from the president and principal but they never agreed to pass along the expense report. Kingfish, can you explain why I can’t see where my required money goes?