Parents' support

Might I suggest that the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities spokesperson who thinks that parent fundraising is only contributing "extras" to schools (your report, 25 February) needs to get out and about more often?

As a Parent Council Chair in Edinburgh it is clear to me that parents routinely fund the basics. In my school the parents' association has set an ambitious target to raise thousands of pounds for smart boards in every classroom.

And this is replicated across the city, as a recent report by Edinburgh Parent Councils Network showed. But parents contribute far more than the estimated 6.5 million a year reported. Most valuable of all is parent time: running clubs, managing libraries, organising events. In Edinburgh alone we have conservatively estimated the value of this at 4-7m a year. Most of this time is freely and gladly given. But if parents are concerned that such efforts are substituting for rather than adding to basic services, then they might not last forever.

GAVIN CORBETT

Briarbank Terrace

Edinburgh