If you think you spend a lot on curric

[DaffodilDreams]

I believe it, OP. I have a friend who spent $500 on her child's school supplies a couple of weeks ago. That also did not include school clothes. And, yes, this was for a public school (middle school).

 

From what others tell me, there are also all sorts of other expenses that crop up often throughout the year in the schools around here.

[Joyofsixreboot]

Here's the secret....don't buy what they write down. Here they put all the stuff together and dole it out. I bought just for my kids and didn't send the rest. No one questioned me. I was not going to buy my kinder 12 glue sticks, 4 boxes of crayons, etc.

Edited August 14, 2011 by joyofsix

[LibraryLover]

Is it just me, or do the Christmas decorations go up earlier and earlier every year?

 

:D

[Nakia]

I wouldn't consider $350 to be a book "rental" fee. I would consider that a "that's a lot of money so those books are coming home with us at the end of the year" fee.

[PeacefulChaos]

I just got done talking to a friend whose child attends public school. Around here you get a list of what your child needs to bring to school. They normally come sometime in the summer with the schedule letters.

 

My friend spent 600 dollars on classroom supplies and that's not even clothes shopping. That was the list, which had things on it like 6 packs of post it notes, how many folders, notebooks, packs of pencils, tissues. INSANE.

 

I told her she should have torn the list up and sent it back in an envelope.

 

In general around here it runs $30-$50 per kid for the public school (and that is if they need backpacks, etc, and getting them nice stuff) The classroom supplies alone are probably 20-30. That sounds crazy, especially for a public school, supplies only.

We do have a private school in town that has a little more specific of a list (aka twistable crayons/colored pencils) but at the same time, they don't have quite as much other stuff on there.

[lynn]

Here you can prepurchase supplies through PTA. It varies from grade I think kindergarten was $55. The boys are a lot cheaper in Middle and Highschool. I have found piles of 2 and 3 inch binders at goodwill for $.50. So I pick those up regularly there for when they slit I have another on hand. I do love getting markers/colored pencils etc chepa this time of year. My little artist can go through art supplies fast.

[DaffodilDreams]

I wouldn't consider $350 to be a book "rental" fee. I would consider that a "that's a lot of money so those books are coming home with us at the end of the year" fee.

 

I agree!!!!

 

(and I'm still upset that I have not been able to use the cute little signs and smilies since switching to google chrome)

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I wouldn't consider $350 to be a book "rental" fee. I would consider that a "that's a lot of money so those books are coming home with us at the end of the year" fee.

 

No kidding! On the plus side, for homeschoolers, suddenly the cost of a Sonlight core doesn't look so outrageous. At least in that case the books can be handed down to the next child, or sold!

[Nakia]

No kidding! On the plus side, for homeschoolers, suddenly the cost of a Sonlight core doesn't look so outrageous. At least in that case the books can be handed down to the next child, or sold!

 

For real! And with a SL core, we have awesome literature that will never get old!

[beaners]

After elementary school I would believe it could be expensive. We had very specific requirements for all my different classes in middle school and high school. Binders needed to be a very specific width. You needed 3 or 4 or 5 subject notebooks because of the way the teacher wanted material organized. Most of the basics can be found cheaply during the summer, but those were never the ones that racked up the bill for me anyways. You couldn't know until the first week of school how many 2" and 1.5" and 3" binders you would need, or how many of each type of notebook. All of those items are pricey the first week of school. I'm sure other areas work differently, but my district was still working like this last year.

 

I really enjoy having the flexibility to use the school supplies I get cheaply! My husband was giving my pile of index cards, glue sticks, erasers and printer paper "the look" yesterday. I took the hint and moved the pile into the closet. He never complains when he can grab a folder or notebook to bring to work conferences though!

[bettyandbob]

This comes up every year. I just bought supplies for a 4th grader. Many of the supplies I purchased he probably won't use because he has special needs. He is assigned to a regular ed classroom and I want him to fit in so I buy everything. I spent around $40. I have 2 older kids for whom I will purchase supplies when individual teachers state what they want. I have purchased several novels for my oldest to use next year. I probably spent about $40 on the novels. I'd have to buy novels if I homeschooled him and I did search the used bookstore first. Additionally, purchasing everything on these lists I have never ever spent as much as I did when I homeschooled. I was very picky with the curriculum I used and I did use all the materials I purchased (I planned o in spring and summer, coordinating each resource) and I did purchase used. So, when I see a post that says someone spent in the hundreds for one child for back to school, I think the person is exaggerating, didn't understand the list and/or the school has a problem and needs some oversight.

 

I hate paying for stuff, but for even the things we have to pay for school is cheaper. Our school system just started charging for sports. At $100/season the fee is cheaper than signing up for local rec league in many team sports (local running club would be cheaper for cross country).

 

My dc are not required to have flashdrives, but flashdrives certainly get used. My ds can start a paper in the school library, finish it at home and print it out at school because he has not printer at home.

 

My school doesn't give out computers or ipads, but for school systems that don't charge for books an ipad preloaded with a child's text books can be cheaper than 5 of those ridiculously overpriced, too heavy to carry them all books. I think that's where school systems are going with the ipad/laptop use eventually. I can see how after a couple of experimental years where they figure out how to manage an ipad program the schools could really save money.

 

Clothes: I spend no more on clothing now than when we homeschooled. Being male, my oldest just doesn't care and wears whatever I purchase. He's not getting any new clothes this fall. I don't think dd is getting anything new either, we haven't reviewed what fits yet. But when we shop, I will purchase a few things she needs and if she wants more she has pet sitting money to spend. My youngest dresses well, dh insists he dresses well because dh feels that since youngest has disabilities having good clothes will be one less thing that people may look down on him for. Dh feels very strongly about this so that is what we do for youngest.

[stripe]

That's just two of the items. Additionally, due to extreme budget cuts, the schools are no longer providing toilet paper and kleenex. They to the average amount used last year per building, divided it by the number of students enrolled in that building this year, and came up with a number of rolls per student that must be provided.

 

 

When I was in high school, we also had no tissues in the classroom. We did have glossy posters advising us about a hotline to report guns, handheld metal detectors, and free condoms. Sanitary products for girls, however, were available for a fee.

[mom2scouts]

Why does each kid need to bring 4 dozen pencils to the classroom? Time to teach the kids to hold on to their stuff. I bought my kids mechanical pencils for a few bucks each. We occasionally misplace them, but I think that would be a better investment than 4 dozen pencils. Holy smokes.

 

One dozen pencils is for your child. The other three dozen is for the 3 children whose parents always expect handouts and don't bother to purchase school supplies for their child. They know that somebody will take pity on their child and provide it. I was not happy when I found out that, even if I spent a little extra to give my child brand name or better quality supplies, it all went into a shared bin and he might end up with the cheap scissors that don't cut or the waxy crayons that don't really color.:glare: I still have one ds in PS high school, but I do *not* miss so much of the "requirements" of having younger children in PS!

[FiveOaksAcademy]

One dozen pencils is for your child. The other three dozen is for the 3 children whose parents always expect handouts

 

How typical of the society we live in!!!!

 

I'd be happy to buy a kid a backpack, fully stocked. That is a joy to me!! :) But don't just EXPECT that people are supposed to do that for your child!!! :glare:

[MrsMe]

Ours is the same whole page of junk. I have huges issues with it as well. They're supplying them and everyone else for the entire year. You don't need to buy a years worth of stuff right away. Ours has boxes of pencils, boxes of sharpies, boxes of dry erase, paper towels, computer junk. Really? Then it's not even your own kids and ours says that you may have to share your crayons. Hey! I'm all for sharing, but this is so ridiculous! All it is is a free-for all. I wouldn't play. Tell me why early elementary needs calculators.

 

I could so easily get off on a rant here. But I'll stop now.

[Renee in NC]

The school my dc would be going to if they were going is a magnet school in a very poor area of the city. I didn't get a supply list from them. I got a recorded message saying that students could go to the local Rescue Mission on a certain day and at a certain time to pick up the backpacks that would have all the school supplies they needed in them.

 

My ds is going to pack backpacks for school kids in Haiti tonight. They include very basic school supplies and the school uniforms. Schools in Haiti are required to have students wear uniforms and many families can't even afford one set. The kids will wear that one uniform every day (washing it at night when they get home.)

[Dmmetler]

One thing I would suggest doing-if you know who your child's teacher is, contact them and find out what they REALLY need/want. In many schools, and even some districts, the supply list is not necessarily teacher specific. Just because one teacher wants a spiral notebook for each subject doesn't mean your DC's teacher doesn't already have a stack of them in the closet from last year that she never used. One of my friends said that she ended up sending home an average of 5 glue sticks per child at the end of each year, because the other teachers at her grade level requested so many, and she just plain didn't see cutting and gluing workbook-type activities as more than busywork most of the time in 2nd grade-and actual craft projects usually needed white glue, not glue sticks.

 

Having said that, I'll also tell you that in my system, if you truly needed something that kids didn't send in-the schools didn't buy it. The TEACHER ended up doing so, out of her budget if it lasted, out of pocket if it didn't. My entire budget, as a music teacher, went every year to purchase recorders for the approximately half of the fourth graders who's parents saw them on the supply list, but chose not to spend the $4 at the school store to buy one. Kind of hard to teach a recorder-based, district adopted curriculum without the instrument, and district rules put in place for health/sanitation reasons didn't let me simply have a class set that was cleaned after each use (even though this was allowed for, say, CPR dummies or even mouthpieces for school-owned band instruments) -each child was required to have their own-and that meant that any other supplies I needed, all year, came out of my pocket.

[swellmomma]

I don't know about $600 but my cousin has 4 children in public school and between the 4 of them she had to buy 25 boxes of crayons, 30 glue sticks, etc. The number of each item blew my mind.

 

When I had my boys in private school they needed 14 tennis balls one year. If I would have sent my boys to the magnet school this year my 4th grader would have needed a flash drive and specialty one color per package construction paper.

 

Too bad the OP can't get a hold of the list. I'm curious to see what's on it.

 

 

I remember from when my kids were in school, I only had 2 in ps and I spent almost $300 on supplies because of the lists. a) our prices do not go as low as in the US. For example packs of lined paper are currently $3/200sheets at Walmart. They advertised ones for 25cents each but only had a couple dozen to lure people in (and no rainchecks), so if you need paper you are paying $3 a pack. The teachers often list the most expensive brands and sizes of things, For example, they list boxes of tissue, but when my kids went it must be kleenex brand of a certain size. Crayons, markers etc all must be crayola. We even had to buy sharpies for gr K-2, and they ended up being for the teacher's use only. They could not just be permanent markers, they must be sharpie brand etc. The lists were insane, our prices remain high even during back to school slaes (ie no penny deals EVER), and then most materials were shared with everyone, and nothing comes home at the end of the year.

 

The first 2 years my ds and the 1st year my dd went to ps I followed the list, spent nearly $300 total on supplies (then added in back to school fees, school bus fees, school lunch supplies, school clothes, etc, all at the same time as extra curricular fees etc) The year they went to gr 1 and 2, I simply told the school I could not provide any supplies that year and didn't buy a single thing, they still had items to use all year. I truly could not afford it, I never could but that year I finally admitted it to the school. When they were in school I had to use the food bank for the months of august and september just to feed them because there was so many expenses in september just to start the school year. If items were not shared and no one cared about brand I could have done all my school supply shopping at the $ store and bought just what they would need for the first month and buy more each month as the need arose and stayed under $20 for both. Most schools do not do breakfast or lunch programs for low income kids, and in the school they attended not only was it nut free but because of 1 kid in the school it was also banana, kiwi, tuna and egg free. There is no way to pack a cheap healthy lunch without that. So in order to give them protein in their lunches I had to buy the more expensive meats, etc. They all ate in 1 lunch room which is why they had those items banned due to the one kid, but really they should have had the kid eat elsewhere so families could actual send food they could afford to feed their own...but that is a rant for a different thread ;)

 

Homeschooling has actually been way better for teh budget, in addition to not needing crazy lists of supplies, I receive funding to buy my curriculum. I have more money staying home and homeschooling them than I did working fulltime and having them in public school/after school daycare. And that is only comparing it to the cost of having 2 in school. I could not imagine the cost of having 4 in school fulltime now.

[HeidiKC]

$600??? Did it include a laptop or something? I can't even begin to imagine what must have been on the list to hit that amount. Surely there must have been some specialty items (beyond a $10 memory stick or whatever they are called).

 

I had to buy school supplies for my 2nd grader, and I think I spent about $25 tops.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Oh, and my 5yr old is taking CRAYOLA Water Colors because I couldn't find the brand they wanted. I'm not ordering it online either. If they don't like it, too bad. Sorry. I did send two extra things of tissue. Please have the kids use them as I will catch everything my kids are exposed to even if they don't! LOL

[Murphy101]

the problem with this is they keep the kids from extras during school if they don't pay the fees and bring all supplies. Ex. Field trips, clubs, parties, etc. I left DS's tissues at home by accident and was told he had to bring it the next day or she would mark it as not brought. Oh and textbooks are free but many teachers are deciding to use springboard which is $30 extra. Plus all their lit books are additional. First week and ds had to buy a $15 book.

 

I would threaten to sue. Seriously. That is nothing more than discrimination.

 

I don't want to sound whiny with things like, "It's unfair!" but I really don't understand how some kids can have laptop computers while other kids write on scraps of paper.

 

Well take heart. Computers do not make people smarter. Chances are the kids working math on scrap paper will be getting a better education.

 

Again my rebel statement. I refuse(d) to be a puppet (please not saying anyone else is! Just speaking for myself!) to the school system. I am also the administrations worst nightmare. I was on the phone or there in person if something wasn't right. I would have refused

 

So all that to say, it wouldn't have happened with me :) I am that squeaky wheel.

 

:iagree: until people start saying hell no about this, the cycle will continue. Teachers need to refuse too. Because the bottom line is parents won't mandate school changes as long as Little Timmy has his crayons and his teacher has her dry erase markers. Parents and teacher need to pitch an unholy fit, dig in their heels, and insist they get the education and the FREE education their taxes are supposed to be paying for.

 

I wouldn't consider $350 to be a book "rental" fee. I would consider that a "that's a lot of money so those books are coming home with us at the end of the year" fee.

 

Darn tootin! Me too! That's crazy nuts.

[Farrar]

I don't get why parents do it either. I mean, if my kids were in ps, I would expect to send paper, pencils, maybe a special notebook or binder or two. But there's no way I would buy them some of the things on this list. That's crazy.

 

Now, having taught ps, I know that there's a disparity between who gets what supplies among the teachers in a lot of places. I wish I had been savvy enough to send home a "wish list" sort of thing for stuff I actually needed like chalk, tissues, etc. But it still would have been a polite request. Hardly a mandate.

[mamakimberly]

 

Kleenex? What the heck they need Kleenex for?

 

.

 

Allergies?

 

My husband teaches elementary school and has spent easily $100/year of our money on extra Kleenex boxes for his classroom. That is above and beyond what the kids bring in. Kleenex is a hot commodity in an elementary classroom. Think of 25 kids and the things they might need a Kleenex for!

 

If you don't send in needed supplies, often it is the teacher who ends up paying for it in the end.

 

The school year hasn't even started and we've already spent $200+ on my husband's classroom.

[Food4Thought]

Where did she buy her supplies? Imported from Europe? I have a hard time believing that even the most extravagant supply list would add up to $600, unless that's for more than one child and she is buying Trapper Keeper binders and specialty notebooks and such.

 

I have an August 2011 issue of Parenting magazine that says that "$600 is the AVERAGE amount parents spend on school supplies during the back-to-school season." So it's not just this one parent. I know parents in the public and the private Christian schools who are paying close to this price per kid. It's insane. Maybe they could bring down the price if they shopped sales over several weeks, but to just go in and shop a list and pay full price can easily add up to these kinds of prices.

 

I'm not going to comment on whether this is right or good - just that the OP's friend does not seem to be an isolated case. :leaving:

[Audrey]

I have seen those lists and many of the "required" items make very little sense to me. I also think it is rude to insist that certain brands be bought. I also hate that some teachers collect all the supplies and then pool them for distribution at his/her discretion. If I were a ps parent, these things would make me rebel.

 

But, then, it seems it takes very little to bring out the rebel in me, anyway. :D

[Mommy22alyns]

Yup, my homeschool "budget" looks better and better! :D

[Audrey]

...and for all this many kids still do not receive an education!

 

 

It wasn't on the list. ;)

[FaithManor]

It wasn't on the list. ;)

 

That about sums it up!!

 

As to my lament about the local public high school's list which included a $125.00 graphing calculator and someone suggested getting it used, well, that's a nice idea but since they changed brand and model from last year, that isn't going to be an option for a lot of families.

 

And to add insult to injury in a county with probably close to the highest unemployment rate in the nation and a mean average income of only $29,000.00 per year - many times this represents two wage earners :001_huh: -students will be dropped from all high school college preparatory maths if they do not possess the holy grail of calculators! Yes, that's right folks. The rule is you have it with you on the first day of class, or you can step down the hall to remedial math or business math, but you will NOT take algebra 1 or higher in this school without that calculator. Sigh...I am convinced that the local school board and administration have jello for brains and granite for hearts.

 

This same school requires seniors to purchase the "graduation package" which will cost $476.00 this year. If the student does not purchase "the package", they will not be allowed to participate in commencement and will have their diploma mailed to their homes. :banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

The whole thing is INSANE!

 

Faith

[Thea]

It wasn't on the list. ;)

 

I about chocked on my coffee....

 

High school is where it gets expensive here. $175 per sport/ $50 per elective/fee for this, fee for that....Yikes.

[Haiku]

I ignore the school list and buy my dd what she says she needs. I spent the first two years she was in school buying supplies that dd either never saw again or saw only the teacher using. Not anymore.

 

I get notes from the school reminding me to send in dd's supplies. I send notes back reminding them that I only buy what my dd will actually use.

 

And she's 17!! A little ridiculous for the school to be chasing down markers and what-not for teenagers.

 

Tara

[Ali in OR]

One word about Kleenex:

 

School budgets typically do not provide kleenex in the classroom. When I was in high school 20-some years ago, I remember taking a math test and my nose was running. No kleenex in the room. No, I did not have my own. I sat there trying to concentrate on that test with snot dripping constantly. When I became a math teacher, I always made sure there were kleenex in my room. That was in the day before there were supply lists handed out to parents, so I bought many boxes of kleenex for my room. I now send boxes of kleenex periodically with my disabled dd who is in a public school. I strongly believe that having kleenex available in every classroom does actually help kids learn better. And with medically fragile kids around, it's a simple step to try to keep germs from spreading too.

 

For the ridiculous lists that have kids bringing in massive amounts of supplies "to share", I think we're all in over-consumption mode. I wonder how many packages of Crayola colored pencils are sold per student every year? It really is possible to keep using the same set year after year as many home schoolers can attest. I think good teachers can teach very well without a lot of that stuff. But they do need kleenex in their room!

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

When ds1 was in K, his teacher wanted ridiculous things like 2 packs of Polaroid film. The packs, when I was able to find them, were $16.00 each. I called and asked her what she needed all the Polaroid film for. She wanted to be able to have instant pictures for things. I explained to her about downloading your SD card from your digital camera and printing on your inkjet. She didn't know you could do that so easily. :confused:

 

When ds1 was in 1st and ds2 was in K, I probably spent over $200 on their lists of supplies, then had to pay $50.00 each on top of that for additional supplies provided by the school.

[Mosaicmind]

I wouldn't consider $350 to be a book "rental" fee. I would consider that a "that's a lot of money so those books are coming home with us at the end of the year" fee.

 

It's crazy!!! Supposedly we are only one of three states that does a book rental fee. It's like getting taxed twice; seems unconstitutional to me. Fortunately for us we qualify for reduced price meals so we only have to pay the workbook fee part of the "book rental" fee. I could never afford to send all my kids to "FREE" public school around here.

[Mynyel]

I have seen those lists and many of the "required" items make very little sense to me. I also think it is rude to insist that certain brands be bought. I also hate that some teachers collect all the supplies and then pool them for distribution at his/her discretion. If I were a ps parent, these things would make me rebel.

 

But, then, it seems it takes very little to bring out the rebel in me, anyway. :D

 

 

Woot! I like you :)

[NatashainDFW]

I made it through Algebra Geometry Algebra 2 and college algebra at university without a graphing calculator. In fact at my school the Pre-Calc, Calc and Statistics teachers checked them out to students but those were the only classes that needed them. Why don't we teach the kids to figure the problems with pencil and paper and save the money on the calculator.

[Mynyel]

I made it through Algebra Geometry Algebra 2 and college algebra at university without a graphing calculator. In fact at my school the Pre-Calc, Calc and Statistics teachers checked them out to students but those were the only classes that needed them. Why don't we teach the kids to figure the problems with pencil and paper and save the money on the calculator.

 

 

Because then they would actually have to be taught math! ;):tongue_smilie:

[NanceXToo]

Where did she buy her supplies? Imported from Europe? I have a hard time believing that even the most extravagant supply list would add up to $600, unless that's for more than one child and she is buying Trapper Keeper binders and specialty notebooks and such.

 

No kidding, that's insane. My younger daughter went to public school from K through most of third (and is only going into 6th now) and my older has been in the school system (special needs school) up to the present time and I have never spent anywhere NEAR that amount of money on school supplies, including clothes, ever.

[Denisemomof4]

I just wouldn't have done it. Period. I would NOT spend $600, and I'm certain there are MANY families that simply COULDN'T.

 

I've had kids in school. I still have one in school. I've never spent even $100 on each child.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I just wouldn't have done it. Period. I would NOT spend $600, and I'm certain there are MANY families that simply COULDN'T.

 

I've had kids in school. I still have one in school. I've never spent even $100 on each child.

 

Very true that some can't. Meanwhile, some cities are changing laws to be able to prosecute parents who fail to send their children to school.

 

A sign of the times!

Edited August 14, 2011 by Tibbie Dunbar

[ChrissySC]

If DS was attending PS this year, THIS would be his supply list:

 

PERSONAL SUPPLIES - Put name on these:

backpack/carrying bag

binder – 1 ½ inch (PLEASE NO ZIPPERS OR VELCRO)

1 three-hole pencil pouch to clip into binder

1 small pencil sharpener that holds shavings

1 sturdy folder with pockets on the bottom

4 spiral notebooks – single subjects with 70 sheets/wide ruled

1 composition notebook -9 3/4 x 71/2 hard cover 100 sheets

1 medium-sized sharp tipped scissors

1 box of fine-tip or regular markers

1 box of 24-count crayons

1 box of 12-count colored pencils

1 set of water colors

1 clear ruler

GROUP SHARED - No name necessary:

5 pocket folders in different colors

wide-ruled notebook paper (a generous supply)

4 dozen yellow #2 pencils

4 black Flair pens (not permanent)

3 highlighters – yellow, green, pink

2 - 4 glue sticks

1 bottle of white school glue

1 package pencil-top erasers

2 pink erasers

1 box of plastic zip lock storage or freezer bags (quart or gallon)

1 box of tissues

1 canister of sanitizing wipes

1 bottle hand sanitizer

 

It is actually much more "manageable" than lists in years past.

 

For third grade, we were told to bring 150 pencils. :glare: It was the quantity that I found to be insane. Who needs 5 packs of markers? Why 10 packs of crayons? Gah! I was not just buying for mine, plus we bought teacher supplies too, like photo copy paper.

 

Most of the items on your list ... including paper towels.

[Meriwether]

When I taught, many teachers gave extra credit for Kleenex. Tell me what a box of kleenex would have taught my students about Spanish. I refused to play that game. I bought one package of Kleenex from Sam's each year. When it was gone I set out a toilet paper roll. High school kids should bring their own Kleenex, but I always had something they could use. Each year I taught the school provided $25 for my classroom. The required grade books (two of them) took between $15 and $20 dollars of that $25. The first year I was there I spent over $500 outfitting my classroom. I heard that every time a teacher left their classroom was cleaned out by other teachers.

[busymotherof4]

 

My oldest is going to PS this year for 8th and I'm a little miffed that I have to buy him a Ti84 graphing calculator. Those suckers aren't cheap. The rest of his list is pretty reasonable. I do have to buy him a mini stapler and a flash drive.

 

.

 

My husband was just looking at those in the store. They are the same price as they were 20 years ago. Look at what has happened to computers and such. On the other hand we still have my TI-84 so when my kids need it they will be using a 20 something year old one. :tongue_smilie:

[LucyStoner]

When my son was in kindergarten we easily spent $150-200 on supplies and fees that were all pooled and used for everyone. The quanities were insane but I realized why when I was volunteering at the school- most of the kids came to school with nothing. I realized what was going on was that they were distributing lists with a lot on it hoping to get enough for all the students. Now, I do not mind contributing towards the supplies needed by students unable to afford them at all but it was a tad disappointing to not even be able to get my kid a pencil case and a folder in a favorite color for him to keep. Also, I get Kleenex but we were also buying soap, hand sanitizer, copy paper, film, cleaning supplies, trash bags and hand lotion. It called in to question how the school budet was being cut and allocated. Schools should be able to buy soap.

 

In first grade, at a better off school socioeconomically, the list was similarly long and but even more pricey and included stuff like a yoga mat and huge multipacks of healthy snack foods.

 

Homeschooling, at least initially, was cheaper. It still is thus far but I am looking at adding more curriculum packs as he gets older (headed into 3rd grade now).

[Nestof3]

I just got done talking to a friend whose child attends public school. Around here you get a list of what your child needs to bring to school. They normally come sometime in the summer with the schedule letters.

 

My friend spent 600 dollars on classroom supplies and that's not even clothes shopping. That was the list, which had things on it like 6 packs of post it notes, how many folders, notebooks, packs of pencils, tissues. INSANE.

 

I told her she should have torn the list up and sent it back in an envelope.

 

Umm -- does she have ten children or more? :confused: If so, that makes sense. But if she has two or three, that sounds really crazy.

 

But, I still wouldn't complain considering how much money is being spent to educate children. Oh, and I would only purchase enough for my own children -- not to supply the classroom.

[justamouse]

That about sums it up!!

 

As to my lament about the local public high school's list which included a $125.00 graphing calculator and someone suggested getting it used, well, that's a nice idea but since they changed brand and model from last year, that isn't going to be an option for a lot of families.

 

And to add insult to injury in a county with probably close to the highest unemployment rate in the nation and a mean average income of only $29,000.00 per year - many times this represents two wage earners :001_huh: -students will be dropped from all high school college preparatory maths if they do not possess the holy grail of calculators! Yes, that's right folks. The rule is you have it with you on the first day of class, or you can step down the hall to remedial math or business math, but you will NOT take algebra 1 or higher in this school without that calculator. Sigh...I am convinced that the local school board and administration have jello for brains and granite for hearts.

 

This same school requires seniors to purchase the "graduation package" which will cost $476.00 this year. If the student does not purchase "the package", they will not be allowed to participate in commencement and will have their diploma mailed to their homes. :banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

The whole thing is INSANE!

 

Faith

That is sick. Just sick. You're right, granite for hearts.

[dakarimom5]

I heard that every time a teacher left their classroom was cleaned out by other teachers.

 

And first year teachers have the hardest time! My son had a first year teacher in 2nd grade. She had a printer in her classroom but didn't have ink! And this was at the magnet school.

[happyhomemaker25]

Allergies?

 

My husband teaches elementary school and has spent easily $100/year of our money on extra Kleenex boxes for his classroom. That is above and beyond what the kids bring in. Kleenex is a hot commodity in an elementary classroom. Think of 25 kids and the things they might need a Kleenex for!

 

If you don't send in needed supplies, often it is the teacher who ends up paying for it in the end.

 

The school year hasn't even started and we've already spent $200+ on my husband's classroom.

 

This is also something that drives me crazy. A teacher friend of mine had to buy all of her own copy paper one year when the school ran out of copy paper in October. Same teacher was not allowed to send any kid to the office for behavior problems because it would count against the school in the end of year overall grading of the school. :glare:

Of course the solution to failing schools is to give them more money. At what point do we say, "We are throwing money at these schools and not seeing any improvement. Maybe, just maybe, it's not more money they need?"

I'm amazed at how much money teacher's have to put out to supply their classrooms. Where the heck is all the money going???

[justamouse]

 

Additionally, due to extreme budget cuts, the schools are no longer providing toilet paper and kleenex. They to the average amount used last year per building, divided it by the number of students enrolled in that building this year, and came up with a number of rolls per student that must be provided.

 

So, unfortunately, I can actually see this for high schoolers.

 

Faith

 

That's another thing she said that I was bowled over by-she had to buy toilet paper.

 

 

 

Is it just me, or do the Christmas decorations go up earlier and earlier every year?

 

:D

 

that and Halloween! AC Moore is decked! And Costo had pumpkin pies out!

 

I wouldn't consider $350 to be a book "rental" fee. I would consider that a "that's a lot of money so those books are coming home with us at the end of the year" fee.

 

Yeah, and they could come find me to get it back, too.

 

No kidding! On the plus side, for homeschoolers, suddenly the cost of a Sonlight core doesn't look so outrageous. At least in that case the books can be handed down to the next child, or sold!

 

EXACTLY!!! I mean, I may have spent that on one kid at the beginning, but it was reusable! It got passed down and now, seven kids later, I'm STILL using them! At least at that point it's an investment!

 

One dozen pencils is for your child. The other three dozen is for the 3 children whose parents always expect handouts and don't bother to purchase school supplies for their child. They know that somebody will take pity on their child and provide it. I was not happy when I found out that, even if I spent a little extra to give my child brand name or better quality supplies, it all went into a shared bin and he might end up with the cheap scissors that don't cut or the waxy crayons that don't really color.:glare: I still have one ds in PS high school, but I do *not* miss so much of the "requirements" of having younger children in PS!

 

See, now I feel badly for those parents who sincerely cannot afford these things. It's like trying to get blood out of a stone and NO CHILD's education should ahve to suffer because their parents can't pay. But here's the thing-the taxes here in NJ are epic. I mean epic. My taxes are about what some people get in income and for cripes sake, if you cannot teach a child in our district with these taxes, what in God's green earth CAN you accomplish? And MY kids don't even take up airspace in their classrooms so as far as I'm concerned, they get a double bonus from me!

 

 

...and for all this many kids still do not receive an education!

 

check these #s out:

 

According to the state Department of Education data, the average comparative per-pupil cost statewide rose by $850 — from $12,983 in the 2008-09 school year to $13,833 in 2009-10. But spending fell in 66 of the state’s roughly 600 districts, including Newark, East Orange, Trenton, Jersey City, Camden and Plainfield, according to the data.

 

 

In Newark, the state’s largest district, spending dropped from $19,058 in 2008-09 to $16,913 in 2009-10, the data show. Valerie Wilson, the Newark school business administrator, disputed the data, saying actual spending was $18,894.

 

 

Gov. Chris Christie has publicly criticized Newark for its spending and poor performance, saying last year that the city spent "$24,000 per pupil and public money for an absolutely disgraceful public education system."

 

 

Westfield spends $12,009 per pupil — 15 percent below the state average while the District of the Chathams spends $11,861. Both districts are among the top performers on the state’s standardized tests.

Now what is interesting is that the Chathams are incredibly wealthy so they must be doing something right if their cost per pupil is on the low side.

 

Overall, Avalon — a tiny district in Cape May County that consists of one school and 75 students — spent $35,882 per pupil in 2009-10, the highest in the state and more than twice the state average.

I mean REALLY--these are the costs per pupil and parents are having to buy supplies?

Edited August 15, 2011 by justamouse
deh poor kitteh

[eloquacious]

When I was in 12th grade, my English class was held in a room with computers. We never used the computers, mind you. Instead, we had to squash our books and papers around the other half of the desk.

 

Oh yeah, my classroom in Baltimore was filled with computers...ANCIENT, non-functioning computers. :-/

[eloquacious]

As for Kleenex... don't get me started. I had the special germ-killing ones on my teacher's desk and then several more boxes scattered through the room. I bought them all myself, of course. (Inner-city Baltimore.)

 

What they really should do is require children to carry handkerchiefs. No, really.