Disney sending request for $250 after a PTA fundraiser shows a Disney movie

[Moliphino]

The article says PTA - so not really associated with any coverage the school system might have had, right?

From what I read, if the school had a license it would have applied.

 

[amylevan]

From what I read, if the school had a license it would have applied.

Our school makes the PTA get our own. I’m not sure if that’s our school’s rule or the license itself. We’ve never questioned it, they just told us to get it if we’re going to show movies.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

The article says PTA - so not really associated with any coverage the school system might have had, right?

The article does mention "In Berkeley PTAs generally fund school enrichment programs and academic support positions."

I looked up this elementary school (Emerson) and the PTA is heavily involved in the school. Looking into it their handbook for the 2019-2020 school year lists the PTA funded over $90K to supplement the school budget to pay for teachers and office staff for art classes, PE, bilingual classes, etc field trips, teacher classroom grants, etc.

If I had to guess this is really about the parents feeling like they are having to pay pay pay and they see this fine as ridiculous even though they are assumedly rightfully in the wrong because let's be honest if you raised $90K, $250 is absolutely easy peasy at that point. $90K may have taken a lot of work and no one may want to have to set aside or get more money to pay the fine but still.

As an aside they have on their webpage for the elementary school a donation fund/spot to help pay for this fine..

 

[bcla]

The article does mention "In Berkeley PTAs generally fund school enrichment programs and academic support positions."

I looked up this elementary school (Emerson) and the PTA is heavily involved in the school. Looking into it their handbook for the 2019-2020 school year lists the PTA funded over $90k to supplement the school budget to pay for teachers and office staff for art classes, PE, bilingual classes, etc field trips, teacher classroom grants, etc.

If I had to guess this is really about the parents feeling like they are having to pay pay pay and they see this fine as ridiculous even though they are assumedly rightfully in the wrong because let's be honest if you raised $90K for one school year $250 is absolutely easy peasy at that point. $90K may have taken a lot of work and no one may want to have to set aside or get more money to pay the fine but still.

As an aside they have on their webpage for the elementary school a donation fund/spot to help pay for this fine..

Well - I don't see anywhere that this is being called a "fine" except here. I do understand the position of the licensing company, but it doesn't sound like they're trying to be punitive other than requesting to be paid for a standard licensing fee.

As for these enrichment activities, there's always been controversy over them in this area, especially with the schools in Albany, California. That was really strange because of three elementary schools in the same district where each individual school was keeping its own volunteer raised funds. They had two schools where the demographics were more affluence as well as more stay at home parents who could devote more time to fundraising for enrichment programs. Then there was another where there were more two working parent families, more immigrants, lower overall income, and college student parents (UC Berkeley's UC Village housing complex for students with families is in Albany). That made things really interesting because of huge disparities. Eventually they came to an agreement to pool funding to fund programs for all three elementary schools.

https://sfpublicpress.org/news/2014...trict-levels-parent-fundraising-playing-field

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Well - I don't see anywhere that this is being called a "fine" except here. I do understand the position of the licensing company, but it doesn't sound like they're trying to be punitive other than requesting to be paid for a standard licensing fee.

As for these enrichment activities, there's always been controversy over them in this area, especially with the schools in Albany, California. That was really strange because of three elementary schools in the same district where each individual school was keeping its own volunteer raised funds. They had two schools where the demographics were more affluence as well as more stay at home parents who could devote more time to fundraising for enrichment programs. Then there was another where there were more two working parent families, more immigrants, lower overall income, and college student parents (UC Berkeley's UC Village housing complex for students with families is in Albany). That made things really interesting because of huge disparities. Eventually they came to an agreement to pool funding to fund programs for all three elementary schools.

https://sfpublicpress.org/news/2014...trict-levels-parent-fundraising-playing-field

Fine, fee, licensing fee whatever. They owe it regardless of the descriptor used IMO. But yeah I wasn't meaning the company is trying to punish them on top of the amount they owe.

 

[Moliphino]

Our school makes the PTA get our own. I’m not sure if that’s our school’s rule or the license itself. We’ve never questioned it, they just told us to get it if we’re going to show movies.

It could be that they don't have an annual license? Because an annual license would cover anything at the school.

https://www.swank.com/k-12-schools/licensing-options/

 

[DisneyOma]

The article does mention "In Berkeley PTAs generally fund school enrichment programs and academic support positions."

I looked up this elementary school (Emerson) and the PTA is heavily involved in the school. Looking into it their handbook for the 2019-2020 school year lists the PTA funded over $90K to supplement the school budget to pay for teachers and office staff for art classes, PE, bilingual classes, etc field trips, teacher classroom grants, etc.

If I had to guess this is really about the parents feeling like they are having to pay pay pay and they see this fine as ridiculous even though they are assumedly rightfully in the wrong because let's be honest if you raised $90K, $250 is absolutely easy peasy at that point. $90K may have taken a lot of work and no one may want to have to set aside or get more money to pay the fine but still.

As an aside they have on their webpage for the elementary school a donation fund/spot to help pay for this fine..

But the PTA is not part of the actual school system, is it? In MA, it is an external entity that raises money to support the schools - they get to decide how to raise money and how to fund things, what things to fund. They are not controlled by the school committee or city budget, so would not be under the umbrella of the school district.

 

[bcla]

But the PTA is not part of the actual school system, is it? In MA, it is an external entity that raises money to support the schools - they get to decide how to raise money and how to fund things, what things to fund. They are not controlled by the school committee or city budget, so would not be under the umbrella of the school district.

They still have to be authorized by a school district to provide benefits for the schools they support. Most that I know of have meetings on school property and are involved in any number of on-campus activities. A school district would certainly step in if a PTA was involved in anything that was controversial.

 

[Kennywood]

Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Co., Issues Apology to Emerson Elementary School for Licensing Issue
by Jackie Gailey



Over the past couple of days, you may have read a news story involving Emerson Elementary School in Berkeley, CA being fined $250 by a licensing company that represents Disney for showing a privately owned DVD of The Lion King at a fundraising event.

The evening was intended to be a fun pizza and movie night put on by the PTA where students were allowed and encouraged to wear pajamas and bring a blanket for $15 to raise much-needed funds for the school – although no child would be denied entry if they couldn’t bring the $15.

Somehow, a licensing company that represents Disney caught wind of the film being shown and issued a $250 fine to the school to pay for a screening license.

The school reportedly raised $800 that evening and to hand $250 of it over to a large corporate company did not sit well.

Word of this fine was made public and there was an uproar on many forms of social media about the issue.

A representative from the school even stated:

Who wants to hear an unbelievable story about how Disney is essentially fining Berkeley’s Emerson Elementary School PTA $250 while reaping millions of dollars through a corporate loophole that has decimated public schools across California?

Until today, Disney had not publicly responded to the outcry. Bob Iger not only apologized for the incident but stated that he will make a personal donation toward their fundraising efforts.

Our company @WaltDisneyCo apologizes to the Emerson Elementary School PTA and I will personally donate to their fund raising initiative.
— Robert Iger (@RobertIger) February 6, 2020

Source: https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-storie...merson-elementary-school-for-licensing-issue/

 

[Heather07438]

Perception is often more important than reality. Whether Disney was right or wrong doesn't matter as much as how it looked. Think of the children

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Perception is often more important than reality. Whether Disney was right or wrong doesn't matter as much as how it looked. Think of the children

Well again it's not Disney doing it, it's the company they have a contract with regarding licensing. Disney isn't going to drop the contract with them because it protects them overall.

But yes PR has a lot of clout these days and it just makes them look nice. Let's be real though the school, PTA, and parents still trashed talk the heck out of Disney but I'm sure all is forgiven now that they don't have to truly pay the amount

 

[Heather07438]

Well again it's not Disney doing it, it's the company they have a contract with regarding licensing. Disney isn't going to drop the contract with them because it protects them overall.

But yes PR has a lot of clout these days and it just makes them look nice. Let's be real though the school, PTA, and parents still trashed talk the heck out of Disney but I'm sure all is forgiven now that they don't have to truly pay the amount

I think a better outcome for all would've been to offer the district free licensing for a year and help advise on uses to optimize fund raising efforts. Then hopefully the school sees that a fee investment could increase their PTA profits and licensing can go about its normal business.

 

[bcla]

Here's a local article:

https://www.berkeleyside.com/2020/0...e-says-hell-donate-to-berkeley-school-himself

https://twitter.com/x/status/1225449142140301313

 

[Heather07438]

Here's a local article:

https://www.berkeleyside.com/2020/0...e-says-hell-donate-to-berkeley-school-himself

https://twitter.com/x/status/1225449142140301313

“We thank everyone who’s been so supportive,” she told Berkeleyside. “We’re certainly not going to turn down donations, but there are plenty of deserving schools throughout California. That clearly is the issue resonating with folks across the nation: why are schools struggling?”

I think this was the underlying negativity that elicited such a huge emotional response. Schools are struggling with continued cuts to student programs and taxes never seem fair. Somehow this incident tapped into that.

 

[BrianL]

Very classy on Bob Iger's part even if Disney was in the right. Something tells me that his donation will be a little bit more than 15 bucks too.

 

[Boopuff]

The funny thing is the old FBI warning on the beginning of the movies that we all ignore.... I remember many moons ago (in the VHS era), a local high school teacher had been recording some PBS show for his students, he had amassed a large VHS library of many shows. Someone snitched, the school had to destroy the entire library or face heavy fines. crazy

 

[DisneyOma]

And what have we learned - it's okay to break the law if you whine about it on social media, as then you become the victim, and the entity that was right becomes the villain. Lovely.

 

[Kaleidodad]

That's why I do all my fundraisers in international waters.

 

[ChrisFL]

Yes, it's a very small gesture from Bob Iger and really a great PR move overall.....having said that, I don't think Eisner would have done the same if he was still in charge, knowing the bad PR they had from similar incidents during his tenure.

 

[spiders]

Yes, it's a very small gesture from Bob Iger and really a great PR move overall.....having said that, I don't think Eisner would have done the same if he was still in charge, knowing the bad PR they had from similar incidents during his tenure.

I would personally burn my money before I gave it to this school. A small gesture? This is entitlement at it's finest. Use someone else's property, for profit, and then claim you’re outraged when they expect compensation.