Monday afternoon I picked up my child from school and he was very excited and it wasn?t because it was the first day back from spring break. I am sure most parents on this particular Monday experienced the same phenomena called Boosterthon. I knew it the second my child opened his backpack and I saw the slickly done brochures. I am familiar with Boosterthon not because I had a child enrolled in Van R. Butler last year but because I was a former teacher there. I was leery of Boosterthon at the time but I didn?t speak my mind due to the fear of losing my job. Now I don?t have to worry about that because I was not hired back for this year. I am not writing this because I am bitter. I am writing this out of concern for my child and the other students at Butler. I have seen how this program works first hand and I have seen how it uses peer pressure and consumerism to make money for their company. Boosterthon takes 48% of all the money you donate to the fun run. They will come into your student?s classroom everyday and hand out prizes to the students who have gotten sponsors, while the other students sit and watch. I have seen the hurt feelings first hand of the students who did not get prizes. Boosterthon also encourages teachers to give special incentives to students who get sponsors. For example some students might get free time in class because they were able to get sponsors while the other students continue with their normal routine. The Boosterthon team is blatantly displaying the ?haves? and ?have nots? in the classroom. Is this really the kind of environment you want to subject your children to. In the outside world this would be considered a pyramid scheme. The higher you get on the pyramid the more prizes you receive. I realize that fund raising is a necessity in schools and Butler has some good fundraisers like Breakfast with Santa. They might not make as much money as they do with Boosterthon but at least all the money stays locally and you actually get something for your donation such as a picture with Santa and breakfast. Boosterthon does not care about our school. They will move and run the same pyramid scheme at the next participating school. They are all about turning your school and children into a money making machine for themselves and giving your school a cut of it. I realize that fund raising is an unfortunate reality of the public school system but it should be our job as parents to help fund raising and not the responsibility of the students to make money for a company that is taking a cut of the profits. I suggest bypassing Boosterthon all together and donating straight to the school so they get 100% of the money. I am aware that many of you might not agree with me on this subject but I hope I have at least given you a little more information about Boosterthon so you can make your own choice. I am not opposed to The Fun Run and Boosterthon handing out their material like every other fund raising company but I am opposed to our children being subject to a sales pitch everyday in their classroom. If you are concerned about Boosterthon like I am please contact Tammy Smith at 622-5040 or email her at smitht@walton.k12.fl.us