Cinderella (and her long lost brother, Bob)

Did you have the chance to see Twinderella? It was the first production of the newly formed Drama Club at the Elementary School and Joanne Lazarus did an AMAZING job directing these kids in a musical based on the story of Cinderella and her long lost twin brother, Bob.

But this post isn't about musical theater. No, it's about money. Money and donations and the PTA and school budgets.

Two years ago the PTA decided that it wanted to have a goal. I was on the board at the time, and we thought it would be important to work toward something tangible. We knew that we wanted to host an auction and thought that the money should have a designated purpose. After a lot of conversations and a parent survey we identified a few programs that people wanted to see at the school and drama was at the top of the list.

All the proceeds (about $5,000) from last year's PTA Spring Auction (our first) went toward funding the Drama program and Lego Club this past school year. The PTA organized the Spring 2012 Auction and, as a result, will be able to fund the Drama program again next year. But the ultimate goal is to continue to bring new enrichment programs to the school.

Last year, I watched a School Board meeting during budget season and the Board had a thoughtful discussion about both of these programs before they cut them out of the budget. But that was before the programs had really even started. We're getting ready to start budget season again and this time we can speak from experience.

I know that numbers are important, so I ask the School Board to consider these numbers:

• Over 50 1st and 2nd graders put there names in the lottery for Lego Club but the program could only accomadate 14. **I'm not sure what the numbers were for the 3rd-5th grade Lego Club, but I'm guessing they're similar.)

• Over 150 kids participated in the Drama Program. Because not everyone could be on stage, some kids worked behind the scenes, helping with lighting and props. Many others helped to create a series of PSA's filmed by Chris Williams which are airing on Channel 13 this summer.

• It cost approximately $3,500 to run both of these programs and Drama will hopefully become more self sufficient as time goes on.

The PTA would love to continue to add more programs - things like Destination Imagination or a language program--but they need the support of the School Board to fund some of the current programs. Budget season starts soon and parents and community members should ask that these programs be included in the budget.

This program happened due to the dedication and support and contributions of time and money by the the PTA and NCEP. There are a lot of people giving a lot extra. Imagine what else can be done for Newmarket with broader support.