User post: Is kids fundraising to make up for shortfall in school budgets smart?

I'd like to know how other moms feel about the extent in which schools are involving students in fundraising to make up for the shortfall in school budgets. I am looking for your opinions and insights based upon a very distressing situation my youngest daughter brought to my attention last week involving a school fundraiser.
As both she and the letter she handed me stated, my daughter was to accomplish chores around the house with the goal of being paid by me for those chores the sum of $20. She would then have to hand the full $20 over to the school to make up for the shortfall in their overall budget which, ultimately, disallowed the kids to go on yet another class trip. Participation was mandatory according to what my daughter told me and the letter seemingly conveyed (however, on a later phone call, my daughter's teacher altered the word "mandatory" to be "suggested" despite all evidence to the contrary).
The extent in which the teacher tried to convince me that this fundraiser and the lesson held within was in the best interest of the children was rather sickening especially as paying my children to undertake family chores goes against all that I have ever taught them. To that end, it is my opinion that the backhanded lesson of outspending your budget only to then look to continue to "spend" is highly damaging and the exact reason most people in this country, not to mention this country overall, are in such tremendous debt today and why schools, like my daughter's, are experiencing such budget issues overall.
Families can't fund raise for themselves when they surpass the total income of the family. Thus, the choices they are left with fall into three categories: loans, credit, or stop spending. Quite possibly what my daughter's school should focus on is teaching kids to "stop spending" when they outspend their individual budgets during fiscally challenging moments throughout their lives. I think these lessons would be much more beneficial than another trip to the zoo (not taking anything away from the zoo). But rather than make a bunch of monkeys out of our kids as they approach adulthood and the economic decisions that go with, why don't we do something truly novel and prepare them ahead of time so that future fundraising becomes unnecessary at every level.
So moms....how do you feel about this and, to that end, the extent in which fundraising activities have evolved? Gone are simple fundraisers in exchange for those cumbersome, expensive, and burdensome ones that require the direct involvement and participation of the entire family. Your opinions would be helpful.