Is Your School Supply List Out of Control?

Education isn't free in this country...it is funded by tax dollars. Doing a quick google search, Colorado is the 14th richest state in the union, and ranks 42nd in per pupil school funding.

I live in Illinois, where school funding is constantly being cut. In my city, Chicago, 80% of the kids are low income (poverty level), so not only are the teachers in those schools buying supplies for the school, they are frequently buying supplies for the kids they teach.

Unfortunately, I think there is a disconnect between what we profess.....free quality education and respect for the educators who devote their lives to education and what we are willing to fund.

"Free" sounds great, doesn't it? Until we all realize that SOMEONE is paying an insane amount for things everyone gets for "free".

My kids are 9, 10, 12. Between school registration fees and supplies (what was on the list), we spent $800....no fun frilly stuff, just the basics.

It's very frustrating (and incredibly sad) just how underfunded our schools are. I am happy to buy all those things if it means the teachers won't be spending their own money of supplies.

Yes our schools do the same. I suggest you campaign for increased.taxes so the school can buy those things.

Such things as paper are used.by the teacher. Lessons/work sheets are printed instead of buying 30 work books, many lessons they won't use.

I suggest you talk with someone on the school board. First to ask why and how these items are used. If you still want to register a complaint, do that. The district school board or the superintendent know how much money they have and how the money is spent.

Yes, it's a shocker and I'd rather provide classroom supplies than to have higher taxes. Perhaps someone in the district budget office can help you know how much the taxes would have to increase so that the district could provide those. You can get a copy of the school budget to learn how their money is spent.

I'm Canadian. We pay high taxes. My kids only have to bring their own personal supplies and a couple of boxes of tissue. Supplies for my middle schooler and high schooler cost me about $40 total. (Some years I didn't have to buy any supplies, just write the teacher a cheque for $30.) I buy items when they are on sale and reuse items from last year if they are still good. Textbooks, ipads and bussing (until grade 7) are provided by the school district.

ETA: A classroom goes through a LOT of tissue.

ETA: Paying high taxes to get decent public services that benefit the whole society is socialism. That is why socialism is a good thing. We all take a fair share of the financial burden to create a better future for our country. We all pay high school taxes because we all benefit from having an educated population. Even people who have no children benefit from having educated doctors, engineers, leaders...I often hear elderly people complain that they shouldn't have to pay school tax because their kids aren't in school. But they forget that the generations before them paid the taxes so their kids could be educated, and that they directly benefit from the education this generation is receiving.

How old are you? Nothing is free, not in this country or anywhere else.
Time to grow up.
Yes, there was a time when schools were well funded but apparently that's considered "socialism" now.
So until we start paying for these things as a society (socialism!) you'd better believe as a parent you will be expected to pay YOUR fair share for your kids' supplies.
And as someone who actually WORKED in a public school for three years (and volunteered many more) you have NO idea how many reams of paper, boxes of tissues and ziploc bags a single classroom goes through every single year.
You. have. no. idea.
Why not volunteer, or work there? Get an inside view?

Deedee, there's always the option of educating your own kid. Which, I know as a homeschooling parent, isn't free in the least.

We did public school for four years; I volunteered at the school all four years. We purchased all of the same things for our son during the time he was there (with the exception of the calculator.) Bear in mind that printer paper gets used all over the building, stored in the stockroom. Teachers do not have the space to store private caches of supplies! I ran the geography program and *I* used some of that paper for the activities presented, communication to all teachers, communication to parents, and data collection during our activities (so we could track the progress of individual students at monthly quiz events). I regularly made copies of information/worksheets for the kids. Specialists and teachers use paper each and every day for behavior plans/goals for some students. Don't even talk to me about the pencils-- they were guarded like Fort Knox! The school secretary had the key to that cabinet; they were not even kept in the stockroom.

I'm more than sure your child uses tissues at the school. At least, I hope they do! That's a public health concern, covering one's sneezes and coughs. I can't tell you how many times I would tell kids to 'go get a tissue'... by the end of the year, the tissues from September are gone. Going to find a box of tissues for the librarian was like being sent on a wild goose chase. Nothing. The teachers buy many items out of their own pockets at the end of the year. The same goes for disinfecting wipes, ziplock bags and other items. Don't forget the things they don't ask you for: paperclips (those are never returned by parents, I can assure you) , boxes of staples, extra folders, art supplies--- the list goes on.

Nothing is free. Homeschooling is not free. I'd love for the school to reimburse us for our son's education. We don't get a tax credit, we pay out of pocket for a tutor, for curriculum, for educational opportunities/activities. Yes, it was our choice to provide our son's education as his needs weren't being met by the 'free' education in our district. I'm fine with our choice. But no, education is definitely not FREE! Get involved with your local organizations and find out how to advocate for better funding. Are you a member of the PTA? I was. It's a very good place to start to learn how the school system/district works and to start a grassroots movement toward better funding.

I remember when my daughter did her first two years of teach for America. About a month in she called me up crying because another teacher had stolen her ream of copy paper for the third time(they are only given one per semester for all their printing needs). "I keep having to buy more!" See those parents don't supply anything and apparently the teachers are rubbish too if they steal from the new teachers.

So yeah, your five bucks of copy paper becomes those handouts your kids bring home.

Yes, our school is the same. You are guaranteed a free education. That doesn't include technology, all the other bells and whistles and last I checked there is nothing educational about a taxi service to the school. If you don't want to pay the bus fee then drive your child, yes? If you can't drive your kid because of work what is that service worth to you? The cost of a bus pass?

My older kids went to private schools, it was like buying a new car every year. 1500 of my taxes go to the school, what exactly do you think you get for 1500 a year? Are your taxes more, 3k? 5k?

Just wait until we have "free" college for everyone!

My kids are older now, 16 and 13. But I remember when we lived in another city and got the list sent home when they were young...it was THREE pages long! And one of the items was 23 glue sticks! TWENTY THREE!!! And jokingly I said, " you better bring home some serious art projects." And not one came home. LOL

However, I don't mind buying *some* basic things. My high schooler only has to supply her own things she needs. My 8th grader does too except his math teacher added "a pack of Expo Dry Erase Markers and a dry marker eraser".

When we had those 3 pages we had to fulfill I would just wait until a couple weeks after school started and everything was on major clearance. Then I would load up not only for their classes but also for stuff at home. I still do that now. I have a plastic bin in our office full of school supplies so when they need something they just go pull it out.

I do wonder tho with our taxes and supposedly the billions paid into the Lottery, why don't the schools get more of the funds they are supposed to? I can't imagine that they are and still in desperate need of so much. I do feel bad for the teachers, especially the ones that work in neighborhood that can't afford even the basics for their kids.

How involved are you in the PTA?
I have found that the PTA does a lot of fundraising that helps offset some of those expenses you are being asked for. My children's PTA is VERY active, we didn't have to buy any office supplies. My mother, however, works in a different school district with a very IN-active PTA....they are buying reams of paper, printer ink, colored paper, etc.
If these expenses are too much for you (you receive food stamps or TANF (welfare)) then apply through your school district for financial assistance. BUT....they may not be able to help much IF your PTA isn't helpful.
SO....I guess I would say...get involved with your school. I got online to see if I could find what exactly your taxes are paying for regarding education. Here's what I found....

As for how districts spend these funds, in general terms schools spend:

66 percent of their funds on instruction
18 percent on operations
11 percent on administration
5 percent on student services

If you would like to read the article and click on the links to see how money is spent on each student individually http://www.data-first.org/questions/how-are-schools-spend...
Education is free in this country. Supplies cost some money.

Education was never free. Did your parents not have to pay book rental? Mine sure did. My mother was a teacher so a lot of supplies for the kids in her class came out of her pocket. The teachers used to get a stipend to pay back part of what they spent at the end of the year but it was only a small percentage so teachers still paid a lot out of pocket to supply their kids with the basics. Now teachers aren't compensated for what they spend thus the need for paper, pencils, crayons, tissue and hand sanitizer from the parents. What used to be book rental is now book/technology fees which costs more plus insurance for the tech devices.

Education may have seemed free when you were going to school but believe me someone was paying for it.

I understand your frustration, but if your school is shifting operating expenses to families, it is most likely due to under-funding and not mismanagement of resources. I'm sure your district would love to be able to supply these basic needs that aren't student-specific but there is probably a budget shortfall that means that they are choosing between things like paying salaries or buying copy paper.

In my state, property taxes can only increase by 2.5% each year. If expenses increase more than 2.5% and there ends up being not enough revenue to support basic school (and other town) expenses, the people in our town have to vote for a higher property tax increase, which is called a proposition 2.5 override. We just put forth an override proposal in the spring and it got voted down, so we are looking at serious budget cuts in the 2017-2018 school year. Supplies are something that will be looked at in order to preserve things like teaching positions.

Anyway...I know that this is a vent and your question is hypothetical, but if you really want to know, I'm sure your school district has a budget where you can see exactly what your taxes are paying for. In my district, there is no more fat left to trim and there hasn't been for years, but the selfish and cheap members of my community don't care and won't vote for the funds we need. It's very frustrating to see people in my community vote penny wise and pound foolish time and time again.

I spend hundreds each year (between the 3 kids) on school supplies (much more during the elementary school years, though, than MS and HS). I'm happy to do it. I can afford it and if it makes the teachers' lives a bit easier, that's great. I also buy more than I'm asked to, because there are those that DO find it a hardship to spend that kind of money each year on school supplies. If I can pick up some of the slack, maybe somebody else won't have to spend money they don't have.

Our buses are free. The $75 "technology fee" gets our kids a personal Macbook for their use for the entire year, compliments of the school district. We have extremely high taxes, but our funding per student is something like $25,000. The quality of education my kids are getting (and the amount of services my kid on the Spectrum gets) is astounding. It's a private school quality education, only I'm not paying $30,000 per kid, which is what the private schools around here charge. A couple hundred extra dollars for school supplies is well worth it.

I buy supplies for both of my own kids and supplies for my own classroom. Because I'm a special areas teacher I don't have students bringing in Kleenex or anything else. I have to supply my own. School budgets are so tight and cutting paper supplies is a better choice than cutting teachers. States pass legislation that requires schools to do certain things and the underfunds or doesn't fund the new regulations. Schools get short changed all the time. Between my two kids and my classroom I spend probably $400-$500 at least a year. It sucks.

If it is a financial hardship for you to purchase those items, just say no!! Rather than getting so frustrated about it - don't waste your energy on that. Either buy the stuff or don't buy the stuff. And enjoy these last beautiful days of summer!

Our school taxes are over $10,000 annually and we have to buy all those things too minus printing out our own assignments. We also have a $75 activity fee at the HS and a $50 fee at the middle school. This must be paid even if your child doesn't participate in activities. We are paying for those promised pensions that are owed to the retired teachers.

Our school asks for paper, kleenex and disinfecting or baby wipes in addition to the standard pens, notebooks, etc. It is not mandatory though and has never really bothered me. I know that teachers spend a ton of their own money on classrooms, so I don't mind providing some extra supplies to help out. We have never had to print our own assignments - that would be pretty annoying to me. I expect a lot to change this year though with my son entering 4th grade and having a lot more work in general.

We do not have a technology fee and our district does not have school buses, so at least we don't have to pay for that. I haven't ever had to purchase a book either. Again though, my oldest is only 9 and I remember having to buy books when I was a high school student, so maybe it will come later.

No my school does not do this. I have to send in pencils, colored pencils, markers, erasers, scissors, pencil box, dry erase markers and handheld board, and pocket folders. And I've got the kid with allergies so I'll send in a lot of tissues and hand sanitizer for the teachers desk (some now and more later). Almost everything I needed could be found at the dollar store. I think I spend about $10 per kid (reusing backpacks, lunch boxes, dry erase board, scissors, and pencil boxes from last year).

No bus pass, technology fee, paper reams, etc.

ETA: I'm surprised at the people complaining about buying dry erase markers. In my school, these are personal items. Each kid has a hand held dry erase board and they do math problems, etc, at their desk using the boards to save on paper. And, FWIW, the dollar store has these too (both the boards and the markers). And all the stuff on my list comes home at the end of the year, so anything that is not too beat up, I send in again the next year.

ETAA: I found an online report of state education spending per child. My state spends ~$14K per child - more than the average. Your state (assuming it's Colorado) spends ~$9K per child - far below average. So yes, it makes sense that you have to provide more, because your state funding per child is low. Education costs $, and if your taxes aren't high enough to cover the cost, then it has to come from the parents. If you'd prefer higher taxes and more state funding of education, then that is something you should keep in mind when voting. Elections are right around the corner. http://www.governing.com/gov-data/education-data/state-ed...

A couple of years ago our girls 5th grade supply list was well over $100. I was astonished when I added up all the costs of the things I could get.

She had to have a pair of new sports shoes to leave at school. They don't allow street shoes on the wood gym floor. They could be washed and slightly worn shoes but either way, I have to buy her another pair of shoes to wear for sports.

She had 8 large stretchy book covers. Walmart had small stretchy book covers but not the large. To order them they cost $5-$12 each. Ummmm, no way in heck and I not going to send this teacher an email explaining how Braums paper sacks make excellent book covers. I did NOT purchase these. Especially since they turned them IN TO THE SUPPLY CLOSET for the teacher to put them on the books and then randomly hand them out to students and they don't get to keep the ones they picked out.

The other supplies were like 3 packages of white board markers, one in colors and 2 black. Sorry, you voted to get rid of the chalkboards so "I" could buy you markers? And erasers?

The teacher wanted many more things, over 25 items on that list. I spent about 50 and said I'd had enough.

I didn't buy anymore.

Another year, 3rd grade, we got a backpack of school supplies through a grandparents group we go to. They gave each child a backpack with some of their supplies from their grade lists. We took the supplies to her 3rd grade teacher and she took one look at the folders we'd been given and she literally threw them in the trash and said she had specifically said she wanted pocket folders with brads. Not brad folders...ummm, stick your list up where the sun don't shine why don't you.

This year I spent maybe $30. We had a ream of white paper, a ream of one color color paper, pencils, colored pencils, a personal pencil sharpener which we already had, a 3 ring binder which we also already had, notebook paper that she gets to keep, and a few more little things like that.

I think that the admin office should make each grade's supply list then each teacher have the right to make a wish list that is sent home the first week or so.

I do believe that teachers pay out of pocket for way too many things and that as parents we should pick up that slack. Our tax dollars are going, in Oklahoma, to remodel the capitol building while teachers are being laid off left and right. It is wrong. We should sent school supplies for our kids and then if we can afford to be generous we can donate things that will help the kids that can't afford to buy any.

I do think that some school districts are amazing and they cover their whole student population's needs. That's awesome to me.

I know there are kids that come from families that struggle every year and there isn't any way they can spend even a dollar to buy glue. They need that dollar for medications, food, utilities, gasoline so mom or dad can get to work one more time, and even if they want to buy them there is just no way. We need to do what we can, when we can, to help those other kids.

,

unfortunately when they continually cut funding for education the end result is the schools needing the parents to help pick up the slack.

Well, to be blunt, nothing in life is free. And neither is public school/education. It's paid for with tax dollars, that come out of every tax payer's pockets. So, no, not "free."

Copy paper is one school supply list item I've never seen before, though. That's interesting. Do they use it in the classroom to do artwork on maybe?

Yep our schools both in California and Missouri do request about 100 bucks worth of supplies each year, of course you can reuse backpacks and anything that didn't get destroyed the year before, but boy did it came as a shock the first time my oldest kiddo started kindergarten! The school didn't ask that of parents when I was a kid, how was I supposed to know! My kid came home so mad at me because he was the only one who didn't contribute to the stockpile hahaha! So of course we made a trip to the dollar store and got everything we could find. We weren't always able to afford supplies, so I asked the teachers to just let me via when they got low on something and I would pick it up for them, they never asked for it so I hope they were fine.
If you ask me, teachers aren't paid enough and district and other faculty are paid too much, they need to learn to distribute funds correctly, fo' realz.

Our elementary did. Now that my kids are in high school, my list shopping days are over. I do NOT miss having to shop for one green folder, one red one, one purple, they search 3 stores for the orange one we couldn't find, and on and on and on. One of my DD's schools has a high school list (it's just common sense basics), the other does not. I actually ignore the one that does and just take them both shopping to get a few notebooks, folders, and writing things for themselves. If they want/need a backpack or some organizing items, I get that for them. If any of their teachers expect them to have certain items for their class, we pick them up after the first day. I think schools will request a lot of "wish list" things, but it doesn't mean you have to buy them. Really, how many boxes of tissue and ziplock baggies and scissors (don't these keep from year to year?) does one room need to start the year? Better to ask the teacher a few months in if you'd like to make a classroom donation.

Yep, we have the same, aside from the bus pass. What I have started doing is keeping half of the 100 #2 pencils and one of the 2 reams of paper, half of the notebook paper, one roll of paper towels and box of tissue, etc., at home and then my kids can restock their backpacks and bring in the next round of supplies later in the year. I have found that they don't always have access to the community supplies and for an entire year my daughter used one pencil that ended up being an inch long. My son's pencil box was virtually empty mid-way through the year last year, so I'll be keeping some extra supplies home for him so he can bring those in when needed. I volunteer at the school a bunch and see their very well stocked work rooms. In the cabinets they have excessive amounts of scissors, pens, pencils, rulers, etc. They probably keep those for children who need the assistance, but it could supply about 4 classrooms for a year at least and I wonder why the current classrooms aren't better stocked for the kids. So, I'm not as worried about strictly following the list initially. We always bring in the materials eventually and the teachers seem to like the influx of fresh supplies mid year.

My DS attends a tuition based private school....I have never seen a supplies list in his life and with the amount we pay for him to attend, I never will. I completely understand your frustration but my public school system was an atrocious fit for him so we found an alternative. he'll be a freshman next Monday. the irony is that we've been saving for college for him since he was a month old so that is actually paid for. SMH.

I understand where you're coming from for sure. S.

Do not blame the school. Ask your teacher for a copy of the school budget. If you attend a public school, the budget is public knowledge. The state may say their "per pupil budget" is $9,000 per child, but the school sees much less. That $9,000 includes salaries, buildings, etc. I was on our school budget committee 2 years ago. Our school budget from the district was right around $75,000 for 650 kids. I was SHOCKED. The income for our family of 5 is more than that. That money didn't pay for busses, salaries, water, electricity, etc. But, it did pay for textbooks, awards/assemblies, copy machine charges (paper, ink, repairs), technology, take home folders, postage, computer programs (like iRead, iXL math, brain pop) art supplies, PE supplies, library books, paper towels, tissues, 1 box of paper per teacher, etc (I wish I could remember everything it covered). We got about $115 per student. That is less than $1/day per student! Our teachers got $100/year for their classroom. One hundred dollars will not buy all of the glue sticks, pencils, dry-erase markers, folders, books for classroom library, scissors, construction paper, Clorox wipes, art supplies, science materials, etc that a classroom needs. Our teachers were so frugal, but it adds up! Every teacher I know spends out of pocket, too! Our school did not even pay for staples, staplers, tape, post-its, etc. That was out of pocket for teachers.

Also, our district (state?) would not deny a child a field trip because of financial reasons. So, if the class was going to the zoo, and parents couldn't afford the $12 fee, then the school had to pick it up. That adds up!

That is also why PTO is so important! Our current school (different from school listed above) has a $50,000 PTO budget (also about 650 kids). This money is raised by fundraisers and parent donations. This money is used for field trips, assemblies/rewards/awards, teacher appreciation week, computer programs (like iRead, Brain Pop, iXL math), Scholastic News, school planners, etc. Yes, our students could live without these things, but they enhance their learning experience.

If you want to blame someone, blame politicians that take more and more money away from education every year! And, if you spend $50 on school supplies, that's about .28 cents a day. So, education may not be free, but .28 cents a day isn't too bad!

I agree! Not to mention the huge amounts of leftover "supplies" at the end of the year the school(s) refuse to acknowledge, saying that it doesn't count towards next year. Can parents NOT do something? Like take the the BoE to court or something?? It is TOTALLY out of control IMO. I mean, isn't that what we're taxed for "School tax"?? I know people that have no kids but still have to pay "school tax".

Also, I worked in a retail environment, til recently, and parent after parent came into the store just complaining b/c of the ridiculous requirements, like, it HAD to be Crayola brand crayons, no other brand was good enough, and Bic pens, and having to buy all these supplies for the teacher to 'dump' in a bucket for all to share. If all the kids have to bring the same amount of supplies, that's a LOT of supplies. They also told me that the school threatened to suspend their kids if they didn't bring in ALL the supplies...this is utterly ridiculous.

I remember back in my day, only an 8 count of crayons was required and it didn't matter what the brand was, same w/pencils, etc. All we had to bring was a pencil box, 2 #2 pencils, ruler, notebook paper, pocket folders, crayons and a protractor which we NEVER EVER used, still have no idea how to use one or why we needed it in the first place. If someone didn't have crayons...no biggie, just borrow from someone or do w/o. Nowadays it's all about equality and forcing parents to provide for everyone. Why can't they just keep it simple? Why all the non-sense?!