In a matter of minutes—albeit a violent and scary few minutes April 27 involving local students and police officers—a $20,000 school fundraiser quickly unraveled.
The annual Britton Middle School Carnival, the only fundraiser organized by the Home and School Club that helps pay for everything from assemblies, field trips and dances to sports programs, athletic equipment and technology, was shut down by Morgan Hill Police and Morgan Hill Unified School District only hours after it opened.
“I heard about it right away. I was devastated,” said Jennifer Allen, the Britton Home and School Club President. “My first reaction was I cannot believe kids can take this much away from the community.”
Allen’s daughter was at the carnival early Friday evening, like many Britton students, when a physical altercation spiraled out of control as Morgan Hill police attempted to arrest two juveniles seen passing a knife to one another. Video footage taken by bystanders would later show minors attacking police officers as they had another juvenile suspect in handcuffs on the ground.
While officers on the scene tried to control the situation and disperse the crowd, nearly 60 police officers from surrounding areas, including those from Gilroy and San Jose, responded to the carnival held on the middle school campus. In all, eight juveniles—two Britton students—were arrested and brought up on multiple charges for their involvement.
However, the aftermath is more widespread, with loss of valuable funds for Britton as well as for local family-owned Butler Amusements, which was ordered to pack up the carnival for the rest of the weekend.
“I didn’t have all the details. I didn’t know that the carnival was shut down for the weekend,” Allen said. “My heart just sunk.”
The carnival’s operators, including Jill and Lance Moyer, whose three sons all attended Britton with the youngest still in eighth grade, were shocked and dismayed by what transpired in their hometown. Jill Moyer, whose father and grandfather started the family business in the mid-1960s, offered refunds to those who purchased advanced tickets. It was the first time the carnival has ever been shut down, according to Lance Moyer, the company’s Chief Operating Officer.
Allen, who has two children currently attending Britton and is in her second year as an active member of the home and school club, set up a GoFundMe page on the popular crowdfunding site in an effort to try to recoup the lost funds. They have generated $3,813 in donations; however, it is far short of the nearly $20,000 in annual funds generated for the school through the carnival ticket sales. Donations can still be made at gofundme.com/5y3v7f-britton-carnival-loss or by stopping by the Britton front office, located at 80 W. Central Ave.
Last year, Britton netted $18,000 from carnival proceeds, according to Allen. This year, advanced ticket sales eclipsed those of 2017, forecasting even more profits for Britton in 2018, according to Jill Moyer. On April 30, Moyer was on the Britton campus after school refunding students who bought the $23 discounted all-day pass prior to the event.
“I’m beyond frustrated,” said Moyer, an active member of the Britton school community since her oldest son (now a senior at Ann Sobrato High School) first started there. Six years ago—and every year since—she has scheduled her family’s carnival business to be at Britton to help fund the school’s activities for years to come.
“It is the only thing we do once a year,” Allen said. “We decided we didn’t want to nickel-and-dime parents with smaller fundraisers throughout the year. Instead, we wanted to have this big community event, make it fun for everyone and still benefit from it.”
The nonprofit Britton Home and School Club, made up of parent volunteers who come and go as their kids graduate through to high school, has limited reserved funds saved up from previous years, according to Allen.
“It could affect our last-day-of-school celebration. It definitely will impact us next year,” said Allen, who is also concerned about the future of the Britton carnival and if it will be allowed back. “I don’t want the community to miss out.”
A family affair
Butler Amusements, a family-owned and operated business for more than five decades, has been tied to the Morgan Hill community since Jill and Lance Moyer arrived here nearly 17 years ago.
It arose from humble beginnings when Jill’s grandfather, George Butler, bought his first carnival kiddie ride while living in Austin, Minnesota. At that time, Jill’s father Butch co-owned a grocery store with George. But on weekends they would take their single ride to local fairs.
“They would go out all weekend and would make more money in one weekend than they’d make in a few months at the grocery store,” Jill said.
George Butler and his wife Evelyn then brought the kiddie ride to Southern California and fell in love with the warm weather. They decided, along with Jill’s parents Butch and Mary, to sell their homes, buy several carnival rides and trailers, and moved out west in RVs in the mid-1960s.
After spending time in SoCal, the Butler family settled in Campbell, where their children attended Willow Glen High School. As they graduated, Butch—who died six years ago—got each of his children their own carnival stand to run.
“While we were cleaning out my dad’s house, we found a route sheet list from 1972 and Live Oak High School (now Britton) was on it,” Jill shared.
The entire family is involved in various capacities. Jill was born in 1970, the year Butler Amusements was established, but she also had older sisters Tami Quint, Kris Brajevich and Kelley Butler. Years later came younger brother Sean Butler, who is now the traveling carnival’s Unit Manager. While Jill’s husband Lance is the COO, Kris’s husband Mick Brajevich is the Chief Executive Officer. Tami, and her husband Ron, are in charge of the company’s transportation and trucking department. Kelley Butler, along with partner Gena, are office managers.
“We’re all involved in the business. It’s a complete family-run business,” said Jill Moyer, who is more active with the company in the busy summer months when the carnival is booked in various cities. “The business is unique because we travel as a family, not just us but all of our employees and everyone we work with.”
Bringing the carnival to Morgan Hill, however, was always special, “Because we know a lot of the kids and it’s a good community fundraiser,” she said.
Donations to the Britton Home and School Club can be made at gofundme.com/5y3v7f-britton-carnival-loss or by stopping by the Britton front office, located at 80 W. Central Ave.
