School supply rant! Too much $$$

[Danemom]

Ugh! Just got my DD's 8th grade school supply list. There is about $70 worth of stuff on it! Seriously. Each teacher has 10-15 items and she has 5 teachers.

DS needs about $30 worth (most of that is a scientific calculator) so I'm looking at $100 for school supplies - and I'm a bargain hunter. It gets better in high school, right?

 

[klineyqueen]

This is shocking. My school supplies everything the kids will need. The only thing we as teachers request is a box of tissues from each student to use throught the year.

 

[pyrxtc]

we don't ahve a list either (so far) but I do buya bunch of stuf for the classroom at the beginning and throughout the year.

 

[Tissa]

We have lists too, it gets more expensive every year.

To look on the bright side back in the day you didn't get your supply list until the first day of school. Now you can get the list early and look online in our district. Gives you time to search for deals and also to by a little at a time so you are not hit at once.

I just look at it as part of the back to school budget.

 

[*love*2*shop]

we are here in NH and YES My kids schools ALso require that *WE* supply the Supplies!!! Pens, markers, crayons, tissues , hand gel and more........I hear ya! OH and we have to keep these stocked all year ( ie the school does not provide these so if my kids run out/ run low, they send a note home telling me they need more such and such)
this is what I say: about all the money I spend....

 

[Va-bear]

My sons 3rd grade list had TONS of stuff (maybe 20- 25 items....) I MAJORLY bargain shopped and still probably spent $ 30.00. I can't imgine what you'd spend if you just walked into a store and bought it all at once. My picking up an item here, and item there, painful as it was, probably saved me 70.00.

But, hey, as of the sales of yesterday we are all done!

 

[Va-bear]

We have lists too, it gets more expensive every year.

To look on the bright side back in the day you didn't get your supply list until the first day of school. Now you can get the list early and look online in our district. Gives you time to search for deals and also to by a little at a time so you are not hit at once.

I just look at it as part of the back to school budget.

So true!

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

You are not alone. Last year My girls were in 3rd and 1st grade. The school supplies ran about 100 per child. To make matters worse the 1st grade teacher combined all school supplies and only about half of the parents purchased them. (my DD's teacher said this was because not all parents could afford the supplies) I had to purchase all the school supplies at least 3 times do to them getting used up by other kids.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

We buy from the school and replenish as needed. All kids must provide their own. They don't pool here.

 

[Danemom]

My sons 3rd grade list had TONS of stuff (maybe 20- 25 items....) I MAJORLY bargain shopped and still probably spent $ 30.00. I can't imgine what you'd spend if you just walked into a store and bought it all at once. My picking up an item here, and item there, painful as it was, probably saved me 70.00.

But, hey, as of the sales of yesterday we are all done!

My $70 total is counting on things like .50 packs of colored pencils, .10 packs of loose leaf paper. But some of the things I just can't get that cheaply (kleenex, ziploc bags, hand sanitizer). Every year I see people buying all their kids' stuff at office stores. Everything but the loss leaders are so expensive there. I can't imagine what they spend!

ETA: It's really interesting how different things are done in different places!

 

[WDWorBUST]

My daughter's 3 year old preschool class has about 10 items on it. Of course what I like is that they list that one of the classes need one different item - but we haven't been told to which class she is assigned yet.

 

[hercamore]

Sorry, but it does not get better in high school. Wait till her senior year!



herc.

 

[summerrluvv]

You know, it peeves me that I have to send in paper towels, tissues, zip loc baggies (what do they use these for anyway?!) How come the school isn't paying for this stuff? I mean, geez, the taxes around here are ASTROMICAL. You would think they could supply this kind of stuff.

 

[Belle1962]

I think my DGS first grade is combining the supplies too because they have a note NOT to write names on ANY of the items. DGS likes POC and I am buying him composition books with Jack Sparrow, and the three hole pencil pouch with Jack (although they were asked to bring in 3 of these---do they wear out for first graders????) and funny pencils, etc. But what if I send them in and they are given to another child????

Last year in kindergarten I sent in stuff I knew they went through about halfway through the year (I assisted in the classroom so I knew) and extra stuff at the beginning of the year too. I know not all families can afford to buy school supplies like the schools want--so instead of dropping supplies in the box at Walmart or Publix like I did Pre-DGS and after DS was out of school--I just double up on the order for my DGS and send it in.

I also try to send in a few sets of mittens/scarves/hats (I mean come on they're like $3 for a set at WM) on the first really cold day of the year.

 

[*love*2*shop]

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!!!! we have to provide Tissues and hand gel per child along with the rest of ythe supplies..why ISNT the School System paying for TISSUES?????

You know, it peeves me that I have to send in paper towels, tissues, zip loc baggies (what do they use these for anyway?!) How come the school isn't paying for this stuff? I mean, geez, the taxes around here are ASTROMICAL. You would think they could supply this kind of stuff.

 

[*love*2*shop]

Our prop taxes here for a $225,000 home are $4,500.00 a year.... UMM OK?
why isnt the SCHOOL system buying tissues?

I mean, geez, the taxes around here are ASTROMICAL. You would think they could supply this kind of stuff.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

You know, it peeves me that I have to send in paper towels, tissues, zip loc baggies (what do they use these for anyway?!) How come the school isn't paying for this stuff? I mean, geez, the taxes around here are ASTROMICAL. You would think they could supply this kind of stuff.

I don't really mind buying this stuff if everyone did it. The teacher's around here get paid next to nothing and I don't mind pitching in. What I do mind is buying 3 large bottles of hand sanitizer and 4 packs of crayons (among other things) because not everyone will send them up. I think that the schools should have some kind of school supply fund for the people that can't get them.

 

[hopesmommy]

I have always had to provide tissues, even when I was in school.

The bad thing for my DD is she needs 2 boxes of 8 ct crayons, 3 boxes of 24 ct crayons, and 1 box of twistable crayons. This in addition to the markers and paints. She also have to have Clorox wipes! I don't even let my DD use those at home, why should I send them to school!!!

 

[NVDisMom]

What ever happened to good old fashioned soap and water? We don't use hand sanitizer and clorox wipes at home, they don't need them in school. They are too darned expensive. I have no problem providing school supplies for my child, and I don't mind providing some extras for those that can't or won't afford for their own children, the child should not have to suffer (I even send in extra when they collect for field trips)...but to tell me they need sanitizer, wipes, paper towels, etc is getting rediculous. Soap and water works just fine, and the school shouls be able to handle the paper products. What's next TP?

 

[Val]

The reason the schools don't pay, at least in Illinois, is because the taxes now fund a higher percentage of the school budget. Years ago, the state put in a much higher percentage of funding (most $$ came from the state funds). Now schools are expected to be basically self funding- through tax bases, etc. Same for higher education. Thus, although budgets have increased (inflation for salaries, paper supplies, building maintenance, in our district- a 5% increase in students PER YEAR!, special education costs as we have more children born each year with disabilities and requiring special interventions- and are we going to tell those kids they can't go to school like in the "old" days?) the state and federal $$ have decreased each year.... Now add the cost of the new No Child Left Behind regulations, and boom- there goes any idea of budgeting! Thus, one way of cutting budgets is to ask parents to bring in basic supplies.

Another example-at our state university the state supplied approximately 55 cents to the dollar of budget in the 1980's and early 1990's. It currently supplies just about 20 cents to the dollar.....so in a little less than 20 years the students have not only had to offset inflational costs, but also the decreased state funding of about 35 cents/dollar. Multiple that $0.35 times a typical $10K tuition/housing budget and wow! costs have really increased. And don't get me started about the textbook scam (and yes, I am a professor! I avoid textbooks and use online readings or original library sources whenever possible).

I wish I could say that my salary has greatly increased, and thus was greatly contributing to the costs, but I am a scientific research who has a PhD (8+ years of college) 20+ years of teaching, and I make less than my kids' elementary teacher with 10 years experience. If I were to into administration at the university, or go back to private sector research I could easily TRIPLE my salary (but I am stuck here with my husband in Corn Capital, USA!- he works for a private university with better salary and benefits!). I would be gallant and say that I do my job because I love my students.....well, actually, I do. But my pay SUCKS!

We will pay over $450 to just REGISTER our three youngest kids for PUBLIC school. Add another $300 in school supplies, plus PE uniforms, student activity cards, pictures and year books and we are easily over $1000 just to send them to school on the first day! Ugh!