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Public school holds carnival, bans kids who didn't help pay for it

A New York public school principal is under fire after some students were forced to sit out a fun fair during school hours because their parents hadn’t helped pay for it.

According to the New York Post, PS 120 in Flushing, NY held a carnival on its grounds during school hours last Thursday. But only students whose parents had contributed $10 each were allowed to enjoy the bouncy castle, inflatable slides and rides. The students who hadn’t paid were forced to sit in the school auditorium while their classmates played outside.

The Post report even included an attendance sheet showing how many students from each class had paid and were attending, and how many hadn’t and would be forced to miss the fun. According to the sheet, five classes had one student sit out, while the rest of their classmates, ranging  from 24-31 pupils, got to play at the carnival. Only one class out of 37 had each of its students pay to attend the carnival.

The Post spoke to some of the teachers and students, gauging how they felt about the situation:

“It’s breaking my heart that there are kids inside,” one teacher said.
The teacher hugged a 7-year-old girl who was “crying hysterically.”
“She was the only one from her class who couldn’t go, so she was very upset,” the teacher said.The girl told others, “My mom doesn’t care about me.”
But the teacher said parents possibly did not see or understand the flier that went home or didn’t have $10 to spare.
“Are we being punished?” one child asked an aide in the auditorium as kids sat there with no movie playing, a staffer said.

The carnival was sponsored by the school’s parents association, but the president of that association said the decision to exclude non-paying children was made by the school’s prinicipal, Joan Monroe.

"She was saying it’s not fair to the parents who paid,” Frank Chow said. “You can’t argue much, I guess. The school is under her.”

Monroe didn't respond to the Post's request for comment.

The carnival cost around $6200 USD, the Post report said, and turned a profit of between $2000 and $3000.

All isn’t lost for the kids who missed out. New Yorkers are rallying to their side, with at least six people offering to throw a party for the kids who missed out on Thursday.

One man is also offering to cover the cost of kids who can’t attend in the future. The Post also reports that the state’s Department of Education is investigating the carnival.