Post your crazy school supply item here.

[ekatiel]

Millions? Seriously? I highly doubt that. Where I live, the athletic boosters raised the money for the artificial turf and track. I know for a fact that it did not cost "millions".

The whole community uses it free of charge. On any given evening, there are adults jogging the track and local sports clubs playing football, lacrosse or soccer on the field. Gym classes use the field on a regular basis during the school day. Band competitions are held there. And PIAA state playoffs are consistently held on fields with artificial turf, bringing revenue to the school that otherwise would not be received. The school district pays to maintain the field, which is cheaper than maintaining a grass field. And the athletes have a safer, more consistent playing surface. It was a win-win all around, which is why the school board took us up on our offer when the athletic boosters proposed the project.

You don't live in Texas, do you ? Millions on a high school football field is not unheard of around here. http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/public-education/texas-60-million-high-school-football-stadium/ Yes, this one was built with bond money, but the bond money could have been allocated for better uses, IMO. --Katie

 

[spacemountainmom]

The three odd things on my 4th graders list this year were post-it notes, safety goggles and a jump drive.

Very curious to see what they do with the jump drives...I guess they aren't worried about computer viruses. And safety goggles? Yikes!

The jump drive makes me laugh. When my soon to be senior was entering the 6th grade, one of the things on the list was floppy disks. I just laughed. Who the heck was still using floppies at that point? I had to look very hard to even find them and didn't want to purchase them.

During the open house, I asked if I could just buy her a jump drive and this was when it was well over $50 to purchase a tiny drive. No one could answer my question. I was sent to several different staff members and no one knew. I finally was directed to the media center and was told that they would be thrilled if I could send a jump drive. The high cost was why they weren't put on the list. I ended up getting her one at Radio Shack that had a nice rebate so I ended up spending about $35. I think she used it once during 6th grade, once in 7th grade and quite a bit (finally) in 8th grade.

Now you can buy one with much, much, much more memory for under $10.

This whole thread makes me glad that Elementary school is behind us!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Got my list!!
the only thing that really struck me as not odd, but kind of wasteful was 8 packs of index cards. Solely used for spelling words. 8 packs times 2 kids.

Plus another 4, just in case, for DS16 for HS. They use the index cards for presentations, that I can see.

the multiple packs for clue sticks I can see. The tops are forgotten and they dry up (that's be probably why they need so many). But don't get the big ones!! They end up drying up before they are used all the way thorough.

I did however see on Pinterest where someone was taking the empty glue stick containers and the broken crayons and blending the two. You melt the crayons and pour them in the tube and let them harden, voila! Crayon twistables!
I'm not sure if it works but we are going to try it soon.

 

[richmond282]

The three odd things on my 4th graders list this year were post-it notes, safety goggles and a jump drive.

Very curious to see what they do with the jump drives...I guess they aren't worried about computer viruses. And safety goggles? Yikes!

The jump drives are used to save students' work from school so they can use it at home as well. It also keeps it from getting "lost" on the public drives.

For the PP that mentioned the ink, I'm sure it's for the printers in the computer lab where kids print out all sorts of things from the computers (including some "unnecessary" stuff.)

 

[monsterkitty]

One of the biggest expenses in my state as well are teachers pensions. Every year the cost goes up. I realize many will not like what I have to say but I think it is time to change that system as well.

Since someone already addressed the other part of your post, I am going to address the pension portion.

Teachers in my state do not pay into Social Security, instead we pay into a public employee retirement account (pera). They take 10% of the money we earn out of our paycheck just like SS is taken out of your paycheck. You do not pay our retirement, we do. They do not match these funds, it is all out of our gross income, just as SS is from your gross income.

Even though I have paid into SS with the jobs I had as a teen and my second job that I had to supplement my teaching salary, I will never collect SS. We are not allowed to "double dip."

 

[scrapquitler]

Millions? Seriously? I highly doubt that. Where I live, the athletic boosters raised the money for the artificial turf and track. I know for a fact that it did not cost "millions".

They installed the artificial turf at one of our town's high schools two years ago (we have two high schools) and it cost a million and a half. They had to redo the track, work on drainage issues, redo the lighting as part of the project and it cost 1.5 million. Next year, they are doing the same project on the other high school because if one has it, the other needs it too....so yeah, 3 million for both schools.

 

[MomtoGKC]

I just looked at our general supply list (each teacher gives out a more specific one on the first day of school.) Between my 2nd & 4th graders I need to purchase 40 things. (I won't know about my middle schooler until the first day of school I guess, it is our first year at that school)

Most are the basics - crayons, markers, composition notebooks, glue, paper towels, baby wipes, soap. The more expensive ones are reams of paper, a ream of colored paper (that is usually the most expensive!) and a jump drive for my 4th grader. I think I have an old one I can give her though.

What is annoying to me is that these are the general guidelines - by the time I get the teacher list some of these things might not be needed and plenty more will be added. I just wish I could get it all done now because we go away for most of the summer.

We are also asked to donate $20-30 to the class fund and pick something off of the "giving tree" that is posted on the board at Back to School night. That usually has wishes like games, recess balls, jump ropes. None of these things are required since it is public school but I like to try to give as much as I can at the time.

 

[nsmith]

Have fun sharpening all those pencil. We went through several manual and electric pencil sharpeners before finding one that could handle sharpened lots of pencils before school started.

After a year or so (and another broken sharpener) I got smart and would pick up DD or DS from school, go into the classroom and use their sharpener.

After another year or so I found that the kids only like automatic pencils (?) and would NEVER sharpen their pencils, so I would stock up on those w/ extra leads.

Know that once they get to high school you stop getting these crazy supply requests.

 

[nsmith]

I live in NJ, we pay the highest property taxes in the nation most of which goes to pay for our public education. Our teachers pay almost NOTHING for their health benefits, received them for life and have great pensions. All paid for my our taxes. I am a nurse and my husband is a grocery manager. We are not rich but our property taxes are over $7000 per year. I have become more and more resentful having to supply the school with the necessities to perform the job we pay them to do. Ok I will step down off my soapbox now.

 

[Leajess99]

As one of the high school kids whose parents couldn't afford supplies, thank you to every one of you who happily sends in "extra" items. It was so nice for a teacher to be able to pull me aside after class and hand me things they knew I needed and couldn't afford. Once I turned 16 and could get a job to buy myself the stuff I needed it was so much better, but for the first 2 and a bit years of high school I was really floundering, borrowing stuff from friends and trying to get by on what I could.

(And before anyone jumps on me, my dad died just before 7th grade. My mother struggled after that. A lot. And he couldn't get life insurance because he had a genetic kidney disease - and that wasn't what killed him.)

I can understand how you felt. My dad passed away when I was 9 and living on a fixed income was quite hard.

I send in extras for at least 1 child and if the teacher needs more supplies mid year I have a stock I can pull from and send in more. I am amazed at how many have issues with this as most actually have a higher income than I do (disabled veteran on a fixed income as well).

I have seen parents local who can afford the school supplies but refuse to send them in. I do not expect the teacher to have to keep using their own money to support the class. I try to help the best I can. I buy extra supplies now while they are on sale and when they go on clearance so that I have them when the teachers need more.

 

[marmalade]

I understand your point completely because that happened more than once to my own kids. My solution was to buy multiples of everything on the list that I knew the kids would use individually (pencils, scissors, folders, composition books) and when they came home with some POC substitute from the community stockpile, I threw the junk out and replaced it with the good stuff. I also sent extras in at the beginning of the school year to cover for the kids who didn't bring in supplies.

Honestly, most school supplies are pretty cheap at this time of year and it's not difficult to find the quality stuff on sale if you have the time to shop. I know that some parents don't. I happened to be fortunate enough to have the time to do it and I spread that good fortune around a bit.

You can rag on the system all you want or you can work to make a difference in it. I found that it wasn't worth the energy to be upset about pencils and glue sticks. It made me a happier person to do that little bit to make the teachers' life a little easier.

That is my plan this year. My kids were in 1st and kindergarten last year and when my DD was in kindergarten (a different school also) she used the supplies I sent in, so I had no idea how things worked.

This year I will buy what is requested, and then extras to swap out the cheap stuff my kids get stuck with. It's still frustrating that I have to do this. I have no problem sending in extras for the kids who can't afford them or whose parents just don't care, I just want my kids to use the good stuff that I send in.

 

[patsal]

I wish we could "like" posts on here. I love this. The state of Florida got a shock when the FCAT results were so bad they had to change the standards back to the old ones. It's insane! My dd just took her first standardized test this year, and luckily did well ... but next year I think she takes both the Fcat and the ones the younger grades take. It might be the next year for the Fcat first ...

Like I said, I'd rather spend $50 (or more) on supplies and make sure my kid is well taken care of. If that means that some kids who aren't as lucky might use my child's supplies, I'm fine with that. My mom always bought her own hand soap, tissues and lysol wipes. (Plus there were years she bought every single supply for her class) I can't speak for your schools, but my mom would wipe down the kids desk at least once a week or more if there were a lot of kids out with the same sickness. She said the custodians used the same bucket and rag to "clean" every desk. She was also the teacher who bought kids shoes so they could participate in PE. I just know how much my mom gets paid, and technically since she's paying more for health insurance now, she's taken a pay cut in recent years. I agree with the teachers who've posted that Staples is doing a disservice for our teachers ... Teachers aren't doing this for the money! They are doing it because the love to teach!!

DH finally put the squash on how much I am "allowed" to put back into the classroom and the kids. I have spent upwards of 25% of my salary for clean shirts for photo day, socks, winter coats, sneakers, regular school supplies and healthy bagged lunches for the weekends.
I use Clorox wipes when the special needs students do inappropriate things and I have a new group coming into the room next to help prevent kids from catching anything. Oh yes, that old nasty rag is still around..let's just say I don't want to get sick and to prevent that I do my best to keep the kids healthy!

 

[ban26ana]

I live in NJ, we pay the highest property taxes in the nation most of which goes to pay for our public education. Our teachers pay almost NOTHING for their health benefits, received them for life and have great pensions. All paid for my our taxes. I am a nurse and my husband is a grocery manager. We are not rich but our property taxes are over $7000 per year. I have become more and more resentful having to supply the school with the necessities to perform the job we pay them to do. Ok I will step down off my soapbox now.

I'm not a teacher, but I am a public employee in NJ. I just want to let you know that I pay into my pension. Good, affordable health benefits, and a good pension system, were trade-offs for a lower salary than the private sector. The public pension systems were self-funding. However, back when Christie Todd Whitman was governor, she started letting municipalities take "IOU's" for their portion of the pension payments. This happened year after year. Municipalities started not even budgeting for those payments, instead putting that money towards ridiculous frivolous programs. Then the state started raiding the public pension systems to balance their budget. The pensions were supposed to be self-sufficient and solely for pension purposes. Those are the reasons that our pensions are "bankrupting the state." It's because the state stole from us, let years go by of "IOU's" that were never repaid, and now we're in a financial crisis.

Us not paying towards medical benefits was usually something that was contracted between the unions and the municipalities. So when the state passed the law that we have to contribute toward our benefits, they circumvented the bargaining process, and used a law to override already existing contracts. Contracts that had accepted lower salaries in exchange for health benefit perks. Now I'm mandated how much I have to pay for benefits, mandated that my husband (also a public employee) and I are not allowed to both have benefits, and we're contributing substantially more towards our pensions Oh yeah, and since I don't get health benefits through my employer (again, the state won't allow me to pay for my own plan since dh has one), I got to pay $200 a month as an "additional pre-tax medical contribution." I got to pay $200 a month for health benefits I don't receive.

Let's just say the governor isn't my favorite person. He makes us hard-working public employees out to be scapegoats. In reality, I can't collect my pension until I've been doing this job for 40 years thanks to the rules in place. Can you imagine me answering 911 phones for 40 years? I'm already burnt out, and it's only been 11! (Sorry, off-topic.)

 

[Fire14]

The jump drive makes me laugh. When my soon to be senior was entering the 6th grade, one of the things on the list was floppy disks. I just laughed. Who the heck was still using floppies at that point? I had to look very hard to even find them and didn't want to purchase them.

During the open house, I asked if I could just buy her a jump drive and this was when it was well over $50 to purchase a tiny drive. No one could answer my question. I was sent to several different staff members and no one knew. I finally was directed to the media center and was told that they would be thrilled if I could send a jump drive. The high cost was why they weren't put on the list. I ended up getting her one at Radio Shack that had a nice rebate so I ended up spending about $35. I think she used it once during 6th grade, once in 7th grade and quite a bit (finally) in 8th grade.

Now you can buy one with much, much, much more memory for under $10.

This whole thread makes me glad that Elementary school is behind us!

My dad is only person on planet that I know who still has a floppy drive. I had to bring my Floppy disks I had with who knows what on them to him and burn them to jump/flash drive.

If anybody needs floppy disks I'm sure I can cough up a few.

 

[Fire14]

I just looked at our general supply list (each teacher gives out a more specific one on the first day of school.) Between my 2nd & 4th graders I need to purchase 40 things. (I won't know about my middle schooler until the first day of school I guess, it is our first year at that school)

Most are the basics - crayons, markers, composition notebooks, glue, paper towels, baby wipes, soap. The more expensive ones are reams of paper, a ream of colored paper (that is usually the most expensive!) and a jump drive for my 4th grader. I think I have an old one I can give her though.

What is annoying to me is that these are the general guidelines - by the time I get the teacher list some of these things might not be needed and plenty more will be added. I just wish I could get it all done now because we go away for most of the summer.

We are also asked to donate $20-30 to the class fund and pick something off of the "giving tree" that is posted on the board at Back to School night. That usually has wishes like games, recess balls, jump ropes. None of these things are required since it is public school but I like to try to give as much as I can at the time.

I buy colored printer paper at walmart, big lots, and Costco. I'm a spoiled nurse who uses colored paper for herself.

 

[penn19]

You don't live in Texas, do you ? Millions on a high school football field is not unheard of around here. http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/public-education/texas-60-million-high-school-football-stadium/ Yes, this one was built with bond money, but the bond money could have been allocated for better uses, IMO. --Katie

I live just north of this city and its new stadium. And when I read the previous posts, this was exactly what I was thinking of. So you beat me to it! But yes, here in Texas its all about the football. And if you complain, people are always quick to point out that its "the bond money" that pays for it. Our priorities are so screwed up. We make parents send in massive amounts of school supplies, that generation or so ago were standard issue in most public schools, but we can always find the money to build for football. The schools (well one high school in particular) have a weight room that rivals a Lifetime Fitness facility. And believe me, that is NOT open to the public to just use.

 

[NemoMOm]

So, after my poly-envelope thread, and a little venting about my kids' school wanting them to have Ticonderoga pencils, I figured some of you might like to vent a little about the crazy items on your child's school supply list. And it will make me feel better if I'm not the only parent having to shell out for Ticonderoga pencils for their kindergartner . So, vent away!! I'm eager to hear what other nutso things are on school supply lists this year. BTW-- Apparently, we don't have it as bad off as the other elementary school in our district-- my second grader needed 36 Ticonderoga pencils (costing me about $6)-- the other elementary school is asking for 96 Ticonderoga pencils for second grade-- and they want them sharpened!! That's like $15-$20 in pencils ALONE! --Katie

Same here plus magic rub erasers which are so hard to find. Also 2 reams of copy paper, and whole lot more. We have spent about $50 and have a few more things to pick up- and that does not include his back pack and lunch box. Oh Clorox wipes (2) those racked up the bill too.

 

[Marionnette]

You don't live in Texas, do you ? Millions on a high school football field is not unheard of around here. http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/public-education/texas-60-million-high-school-football-stadium/ Yes, this one was built with bond money, but the bond money could have been allocated for better uses, IMO. --Katie

No, I don't live in TX and neither does the PP to whom I addressed my post. She lives in the same state that I do and there are a lot of school districts here that turn to fundraising to finance the needs of the athletic programs since taxpayer money needs to be funneled (and rightly so) to academic purposes. Hence, the reason why our boosters raised the money to pay for our turf.

As to that school's stadium (in your link), well that is where their community has chosen to spend its money. I can't say whether I agree or disagree with their choice since I have no idea whether their kids are sharing 10-year-old text books or are issued school-supplied laptops each year. However, according to the article, the school in question ranks among the best in your state.

They installed the artificial turf at one of our town's high schools two years ago (we have two high schools) and it cost a million and a half. They had to redo the track, work on drainage issues, redo the lighting as part of the project and it cost 1.5 million. Next year, they are doing the same project on the other high school because if one has it, the other needs it too....so yeah, 3 million for both schools.

There's a big difference between the cost of installing an artificial turf field and the cost of totally redoing a football stadium, isn't there? The drainage situation and the lighting projects might have accompanied the placement of the turf or they could have been done independently as necessary maintenance.

Fortunately for us, there weren't any drainage problems and we had no lighting until a local contractor donated it. The cost of the turf was under $750K and was funded entirely by the boosters and local businesses. I guess that we see our schools and the facilities as an extension of our community and not just a place to send our kids for 6 hours every weekday from Sept. to June.

 

[stm61]

I teach in a school with many children living in poverty.We have over 80% free and reduced lunch at our school. We ask for very little because our students don't have much. I ask for 2 pencils and a pencil box and still have about 5 that don't bring that. I just usually get people that donate some supplies and of course, I buy the rest. It infuriates me when schools ask for so much...they act like every family can afford it. The whole problem lies with the funding we DON'T get. Teachers are always having to do without, or buy it themselves. With no raise in five years, I am done doing that. I just do the best I can. My advice to those with those expensive supply lists is to go to Target or Walmart and buy whatever pencils you can. I can assure you that in the end it won't really matter.

LOL I think we teach in the same district! Actually our free/reduced lunch is probably closer to 95%+. I don't ask for anything because I know I'm not going to get it. The last time I tried, I asked for a pencil box. Didn't care what color, brand, or size. Just a pencil box to keep their stuff in. I still ended up buying half the class, but I did have 2 grandma's send in extra since they knew the kids wouldn't buy it. Usually I hit the Walmart sales, this year I refuse to. The boys I had last year broke every crayon in the room so they could throw them at the trash cans. I swore I'd never buy anything again after that. What I really want to know is where are the teachers storing all those supplies? None of our rooms have closets, the only rooms with any type of storage are in the kindergarten and preschool areas. Are they stacking the stuff behind their desk or taking it home until they need it?

 

[littlebit0863]

My DS is going into 7th. grade and they need a ton of glue stickers and 2 packs of colored pencils. I can't understand why they need to color and glue in 7th. grade. But in 6th. grade also they would glue everything in their composition notebooks and color pictures in them.

He also needs red pens - why red? I remember when I was in school only the teacher was allowed to use red pens!

The colored pencils are probably for coloring in maps. Teachers often have kids grade each other's quizzes right there in class (or that's what we did) so I'm assuming red would go for that. Glue sticks, I have no idea. Unless they are scrapbooking. Now that I think about it, it would be awesome to make a bunch of 12 year olds organize my photos.