Posted on 09/24/2007 7:44:50 PM PDT by TheMom
I need objective opinions.
For the second year I am the president of athletic booster club at TheGirls school (not that big of a deal, we are only 10 strong). Every year the booster club gives scholarships to qualifying seniors.
The criteria for qualifying is (1)The parent(s) must be paid the dues ($10.00 or $15.00) by a certain date; (2) The parent(s) must have accumulated a certain number of volunteer hours by a certain date; and (3) The student must have a 2.5 GPA. The certain date is April 15th.
If the above criteria is met, the student fills out a the scholarship form, then interviews with the scholarship committee. The committee then decides which students will receive a scholarship, then sends the students a letter of congratulations which includes a specific deadline to return important information (the main information needed is proof of enrollment).
Simple right? This year we have drama.
The parents paid their dues several days past the deadline, the check was misplaced by our treasurer and was not deposited until four months later The treasurer should have contacted the parents before depositing the check. The check bounced because the account was closed.
Neither the student, nor the parents send in the important information by the deadline. According to the parent the student was planning to attend one college, but at the last moment was recruited by another – with the offer of a full scholarship for the freshman year. Neither the student, nor the parents informed anyone on the committee of this change until three weeks after the deadline. The parent claims she thought she sent an email, but was very busy during the week of the deadline trying to prepare to get her child to an out of state college. No proof of enrollment was sent in for the initial college choice.
The scholarship committee denied the scholarship. This evening the parent appealed the decision during our regular meeting. The committee met after the meeting to discuss the appeal and decided to meet with the parents later this week to discuss their decision.
BTW – the parent knows that her $15.00 check bounced (which technically means she is not a member of the booster club), and she did not bother to bring in cash this evening to cover the check and the $5.00 bank fee.
If you were on the scholarship committee what would you decide?
You may appeal in 15 days for final denial.
The student is the one responsible for getting the information to the committee.
One of my concerns is where do you draw the line? If you give a little to one person who does not abide by the rules, you gotta do the same to the next person.
FWIW - We are considering giving the student half of the scholarship.
Okay, let me get *your* opinion.
We have a person in our condominium association who sends threatening emails and who refuses to abide by association rules. In addition, he is causing damage to common area.
He would love to be a trustee and tells everybody that the current trustees are dishonest and working out deals with vendors.
So should I vote for him to be a trustee?
(Actually I will not vote for him. I was just trying to bump your post because it seemed that nobody was responding.)
Give the money to the college bound kid who's parents did pay in a timely manner and did provide the information requested before the clearly defined deadline that the scholarship fund set forth in the rules.
I have spoken, make it so ............;o)
don't hold the faults of the parents against the kids. look at the spirit of the scholarship and ask why it's there in the first place.
if this kid got a full first-year ride they might not really need the money anyway. but if the student is really a good kid and could use it, just overlook that mistakes were made at all levels of this interaction.
the kids mom sounds like a real piece of work. in my mind, not bringing the bounced check money was mean-spirited if done intentionally. if the kid is like the mom, keep your money.
use your discretion. and if you give the money, make it clear that is was given due to the child's need and that mistakes like this will not be tolerated again.
P.S. Why should she be expected to cover the bank fee, when the only reason (as far as is known) that the check bounced is that the club's treasurer waited 4 months before depositing the check and didn't check with the parent who wrote it before doing that? And if the club's treasurer accepted the check, and didn't return it promptly on account of its having been submitted after the deadline, the parent (and student) were reasonably assuming all this time that the slightly late payment had been accepted.
Sounds to me like there's enough adult blame to go around here, that an otherwise deserving student shouldn't lose the scholarship just because neither her parents nor the scholarship-giving club could get themselves organized. Give the kid the scholarship and then resolve to get the booster club's administrative matters better organized next year, so you'll be in a position to point the finger at parents who can't get organized enough to follow simple instructions. As it stands now, the booster club is not "above reproach" in this matter.
If the ONLY mistake made was by the treasurer it would not be an issue. The lazy parents and student made all of the rest of them.
Not a pot / kettle thing at all.
file an aggravated harassment report against this jerk for the threatening emails. a few hours in a cell should teach him.
No expert here but I would say based on the critera they simply do not qualify.
What is an aggravated harassment report? He has told some trustees that it isn’t ‘healthy’ for them to continue.
I would not vote for the guy either. Sounds like a PITA.
The girl’s mom had probably told her that she would take care of it sending in the enrollment info, and the girl figured she had. It must really suck for a kid to have irresponsible parents, and it makes it tough for the kid to develop age-appropriate responsibility herself.
we take it pretty seriously here. especially if the harasser lives close to the victim as to give opportunity and easy access. usually a knock on the door from a cop will end it. if it continues, you get a visit from the detective's, are led away in cuffs for all to see and officially booked.
this kind of thing implies mental instability and needs to be stopped before a physical altercation occurs.
Seems like the parents were awfully casual about your criteria, and now are expecting you to be casual about it, too. I feel sorry for the student, who may or may not have realized that the parents needed to be ridden herd on, but your rules are your rules. And where do you live that a check charge is just $5?
I’m not giving you any advice; I’m just telling you that my scholarship paperwork was late one year and, thankfully, I still received that year’s money. I wonder how my life would be different if someone had looked closely at the postmark.
God Bless Texas, The Mom and even Eaker ...
Thanks for caring enough to give any kind of scholarship ;o)
Let your concience be your guide.
What is the amount of the scholarship in question?
Here Here!!! (or is it hear, hear?:’)
4000 students at this school and eight (8) parents volunteer.
Our daughter graduates from this school next year so the spot is open for you to take over.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.