Dear Editor:
I have just discovered that my local parent advisory council is expected to contribute $200 to pay for one charm and one pin for our school's May Queen representative and royal knight. The PAC is also expected to give each child a $100 clothing allowance.
Spending $400 on jewelry and clothing for two children is not an appropriate way to spend the hard-earned dollars that PAC parents raise through countless volunteers hours during the year.
Our education dollars are stretched enough; schools rely on money from their PACs to fund purchases, such as sports equipment and computers, that are no longer affordable for the district given the funding cuts to our education system.
A clothing allowance is somewhat defensible if a specific uniform is required, however, spending $100 on jewelry for each child in the May Queen suite (a total annual expenditure of $1,800) is almost impossible to justify. I encourage May Day organizers to reconsider the necessity of spending $1,800 on commemorative jewelry for 18 children.
Kelly Slade-Kerr, New Westminster
