It was meant to be a fun night at the movies for students at Emerson Elementary School in Berkeley, Calif. There would be pizza and a showing of Disney’s “The Lion King.” Students were encouraged to bring blankets and wear pajamas to the event, which was a fund-raiser, although no children would be denied entry if they could not afford one of the $15 tickets.
But the event, held on Nov. 15, has pitted the school against a corporate behemoth, setting up a broader conversation about public school funding. On Tuesday, Emerson’s parent-teacher association said it has been asked by a licensing company representing Disney to pay $250 for a screening license.
“We recently were fined by Disney for a movie night,” the group said on Facebook, where it also announced a fund-raiser to help pay the fine.
“This is beyond disappointing,” Shannon Mitchell, who works in Berkeley, said on the Facebook page.
“Disney taking money from a public school is completely uncalled for,” another person commented. “They could have just sent a notice and asked that you follow protocol in the future.”
On social media and in interviews this week, parents, elected officials and the school district framed the flap in ways that echoed themes from the movie itself, which tells the tale of a cub who must face down far mightier foes.
“It was an interesting collision of worlds,” Lori Droste, a P.T.A. representative and a member of the Berkeley City Council, said in an interview on Wednesday. “I thought the irony was really rich.”
The request for the payment for the license was made through Movie Licensing USA, the licensing agent for Walt Disney Pictures and other major studios, according to an email it sent to P.T.A. members on Thursday.
Corey Goellner, a licensing manager with Movie Licensing USA, cited copyright law, and pointed to a $536 annual licensing option as well as discounts on multiyear agreements.
In the email, which was reported last week by Berkeleyside, Ms. Goellner said the company had received an “alert” that “The Lion King” had been screened on Nov. 15 at the school.
“We have been asked by the studio to contact you to make this showing and any future showings legal,” she wrote.
The email said most school librarians and technology directors were aware of the rules, and often approached Movie Licensing USA to secure permits in advance. She said 25,000 schools across the country had licenses.
Ms. Droste said on Wednesday that about $800 had been raised that night, but that more has been gathered through the fund-raising drive that was started after the request for the payment. (She declined to say how much.) Ms. Droste also said that the P.T.A. intended to pay for a license, but that the school board and the principal were still deciding between the single-use and annual options.
Trish McDermott, a spokeswoman for the Berkeley Unified School District, said the school had had an increase in donations since news about the licensing fee became public, and it would use the money to pay the $250 fee for showing the movie.
“School funding is a growing challenge in California, as state funding cannot keep pace with the increasing expenses school districts across the state are experiencing,” she said in an emailed statement. “Elementary school P.T.A.s in Berkeley, and throughout the state, hold small fund-raising events to contribute additional revenue to their school budget.”
According to Ms. Droste, the DVD copy of “The Lion King” used at the screening last November had been purchased from Best Buy by a father at the school.
The day Movie Licensing USA sent notice to the Emerson P.T.A., Ms. Droste reflected on Proposition 13, a 1978 voter initiative in California that critics say has made it difficult for public school districts to obtain proper funding.
“Who wants to hear an unbelievable story about how Disney is essentially fining Berkeley’s Emerson Elementary School PTA $250 while reaping millions of dollars through a corporate loophole that has decimated public schools across California?” Ms. Droste wrote.
“The fundamental message is this,” she added. “It’s absurd that PTAs throughout California have to raise money (a lot!) to pay for teachers and financial scholarships when this can be easily remedied through investment in our public schools.”
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Fine for Screening ‘The Lion King’ at a Fund-Raiser? A Third of the Take - The New York Times
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