Season of Selling Has Its Fans, But Some Just Say No

By Adrienne D. Coles

Nearly every teacher, parent, and student across the United States is familiar with the fund-raising hullabaloo that grips most schools in the fall and spring. But not everyone is buying into the product-selling ritual.

For the past three years, the Rocky Run Middle School PTA in Chantilly, Va., has taken a decidedly different approach to raising money to pay for extras: The group simply asks for cash.

The Rocky Run PTA wanted to try what it calls a "no-fuss fund-raiser," said Peggy...