Organization Experience

            Around twenty years ago my mother created a summer camp at an elementary school I attended my entire childhood. In the beginning few years a day could consist of merely 15 children; however, by the time I maxed out on the age limit for the camp (being 12 years old) there was around 60-80 kids a day. During the period of the camp’s greatest success one child a day cost thirty dollars and twenty dollars for every extra child in one family. Each day was a flat rate, and a child could be dropped off at any point throughout the day. My mother was in charge of handling all paperwork, aggravated parents, setting prices, and appeasing the board at the elementary school where the camp was held. She hired several teachers from the school to take care of organizing daily activities, taking money from parents with an outstanding balance, and keeping order among the rest of the counselors.

By the time I was old enough to work I became one of these counselors. The best part about this job was I knew everything that happened behind the scenes. When I heard employees complaining about certain rules we have, including the inability to carry around a cell phone at all times, I understood the background behind these rules. I was informed on everything and anything that happened at this camp, including all the drama following the school board and their greed for money.

            The parish office of this school received majority of the profit for the camp, making about $45,000 a summer out of the $92,000 in total earnings. The unique part about my mother, was a lot of the work she was doing was for the greater good of the school which raised her children. Not only did she run this camp, but she ran an after school program and soccer league during the year, and also in her later years at the school worked for the parish office year round. Starting in January every year paperwork would file in with families trying to get their children in the camp. I listened to countless phone-calls with parents switching schedules, arguing the prices, and complaining about certain rules set in place. Every year the month leading up to the beginning of camp, I followed my mother to toy stores and craft shops in order to buy new supplies for the summer. There was a certain delicate care she took with the camp, and I knew the nostalgia behind the school and my upbringing had everything to do with it. In order to stretch her budget, she would clip coupons, follow sales, and taught me how check a price tag and compare the cost per unit in a product instead of the product as a whole. She would pick up a toy and smile asking me, “would you do this craft with a group of kids.” We shared a pride of creating a memorable summer for the children of our community.

            By the time my career in high school was ending, so was my mother’s desire to put time and energy into a camp that she was not being compensated for. Those long hours on the phones with parents, and time spent searching for supplies and setting up the camp were never accounted for. When your children are given free day care, or have the opportunity for a flexible summer job every year there is an incentive behind the work she put in. However, after I graduated her attachment to the program dwindled. In addition to being unfairly paid, her above and beyond effort at her job at the parish office was being taken advantage of as well. This is when she finally decided to put the school in her past and move on just like my brothers and I were doing as well.

            When she made it clear she would be leaving the school the following month, the school panicked because they had nobody who could or would fill her shoes. This past summer was the first year my mother did not run the camp. They had only 35 total children enrolled in the camp and the school made less than half the profits from the previous year. Every person that was asked to do what my mother did refused the salary, and refused to do the amount of work my mother had done. When someone was finally found to fill her spot, the end result of profit and enrollment proved the value of my mother and her work.

            Employees throughout the summer started taking advantage of the new manager. Counselors were showing up late, not putting in correct hours, using phones when it is prohibited, and sitting around when they were supposed to be entertaining the campers.

            When my mother originally asked for a raise, the board saw her as easily replaceable. The transaction costs of paying my mother a higher salary to file paperwork and deal with customers did not seem worthwhile for a job that seems so easily replaceable or done by someone already working at the school. However, they later realized you cannot replace experience and passion. The opportunity costs of refusing to pay a few thousands more for a driven leader, were about $20,000 that summer. I will be interested to see how many phone calls she receives this summer.