Paying for school.
We had a question below about paying to go to school.
Here in Kansas you have to pay a "textbook rental" fee, fees for field trips and fees for band, etc.
It's $75 for each student textbook fees. Last year it was about $50 for field trips for each kid and then it was $3 for magazine subscription. I have to admit that really irked me since my kids never looked at the thing. The silly part was that it was the environmental education school they went to and here they were wasting money and resources. Go figure!
It costs me around $250 to put the kids in school with no extra activities.
I would love to see more parents take a stand and "no way" am I paying for extra stupid stuff!
My best friend had to buy a her son 35 glue sticks (no that's not a typo) for kindergarten. EACH child was required to buy that many. I'm sorry but that is just crazy and just plain wasteful.
In my son's preschool class they are going to start making breakfast each morning and want each of the parents to donate food one morning a month. Well, that's all nice and good but it seems like the teachers are just making more work for themselves. Just doesn't make sense to me!
Tawra
Here in Kansas you have to pay a "textbook rental" fee, fees for field trips and fees for band, etc.
It's $75 for each student textbook fees. Last year it was about $50 for field trips for each kid and then it was $3 for magazine subscription. I have to admit that really irked me since my kids never looked at the thing. The silly part was that it was the environmental education school they went to and here they were wasting money and resources. Go figure!
It costs me around $250 to put the kids in school with no extra activities.
I would love to see more parents take a stand and "no way" am I paying for extra stupid stuff!
My best friend had to buy a her son 35 glue sticks (no that's not a typo) for kindergarten. EACH child was required to buy that many. I'm sorry but that is just crazy and just plain wasteful.
In my son's preschool class they are going to start making breakfast each morning and want each of the parents to donate food one morning a month. Well, that's all nice and good but it seems like the teachers are just making more work for themselves. Just doesn't make sense to me!
Tawra
posted by Tawra Jean at 12:27 PM
21 Comments:
Well, I have 2 in school. I live in Texas. One boy is in 2nd grade the other a kindergarten student. I have to buy their supplies, (I admit I think the supply lise is dumb, because it asks for 8 glue sticks, and 4 boxes of crayons, and a whole ream of copy paper) but I do not have to pay a book 'rental' fee or anything else. So I am lucky.
I don't understand these/those fees. I thought that was what TAX dollars were for...Roxie
Here in (North) Las Vegas we got a list from the school of 'desired' supplies for each grade level, including the usual pencils, crayons, etc. but also strange things like a box of gallon ziploc bags for the girls (and quart size ones for boys???).
However, it was also clearly stated on the letter that the items were suggested only, and we are not required to purchase ANY of the supplies.
I'm assuming that parents with money will purchase everything without question, and extras will go in the supply closet and be distributed to the 'poor' kids or kids of 'cheapskates'. I am one of the latter. I will glady 'pony up' for my daughter's pencils and crayons, but (as a dedicated baggy washer) I'm not going to hand over a whole box of gallon ziploc bags without a bit of explanation from the teacher as to why they are needed!
Tawra, love the website! I don't have kids, but after reading the same sort of comments on some discussion forums, I found the website for my neighborhood's elementary school (Chicago - nice neighborhood) and found reasonable supply lists. You *were* required to pay a $50 materials fee (I believe for things like consumable workbooks and such).
Me again - I would guess the Ziploc bags do have a purpose, just ask the teacher. As far as quarts for boys, gallons for girls - I am guessing the gender split is about equal in the class and it was easier than trying to figure out, say, A-H bring quarts . . . But, I don't think it is reasonable for the teacher to always have to supply out of his/her pocket. Most elementary teachers are very frugal and creative and really do have a method to their (seeming) madness.
Christy
Do you get any of the 'rental' fees back at the end of the year? Does your PTO/PTA have any fund raisers to help cover costs of field trips? Are the field trips worthwhile - that is, educational , or are they fun trips for an outing? Bellen
Maybe you could suggest to the teacher that you would be happy to buy 3-5 glue sticks to start off and if he needs more you will buy them as needed. That is the craziest thing I have ever heard. We live in Indiana and my son has a $90 book fee and I spent about $30 in school supplies including his book bag. He only needed 5 glue sticks. I hope your son's teacher will work with you. Stacy
I have twin daughters and this year it broke the bank getting them started in school. I first had to pay a book rental fee of $150 per child then I had to buy the supply list and wasted another $75, I had to buy new gym shoes for the school to keep at the gym ect....I can relate. Also I saw that Chris was talking about the ziplock bags...I had to supply those too. I went to the Dollar Tree (severe discounted outlet where everything in the store is $1) and I bought them a box of 25 for $1. Well anyhow, I can relate that our public schools make us foot the costs so that they don't have to spend any money. I too thought that the book rental fee included supplies fees but it doesn't. I am sure that I will have to pay a technology fee too for internet and computer use. I think our tax dollars are spent to pay the teachers salaries and not for any other purpose that is why we have all these extra fees.
Samantha
I refuse to supply items not directly related to learning. In addition, having "Community Supplies" does not teach the children to be responsible for their own equpiment, but rather that someone else will be there to pick up their slack. That's not what I want my children to learn at school or anywhere else. I attended parochial schools as a kid, where you wrote on both sides of the paper, you sharped a new pencil only after the previous one was too small to handle, and any loss of supplies due to carelessness was handled by your parents. Those are the lessons we should return to, and not the belief that someone else will give you a hand out (needed or otherwise.
HI Tawra,
That does seem a bit much for someone to be paying for kids who are in public school. I only had to buy a few items-2 glue sticks, a box of markers, scissors and hand sanitizer. The teacher also gave a list of some other items she would like for some craft projects, but we don't have to buy them. And just like Roxie stated, I thought that is what we pay taxes for, to cover the cost of the schools having to purchase books every year etc. It seems strange to me. Maybe you should question the town, county etc. to find out what your taxes cover.
Debbie Ft. Lauderdale
Tawra,
I enjoy your website tremendously. I am not a parent but as a former teacher and current school employee, let me try to explain part of the reason that school require such items provided. I agree that 35 glue sticks is a ridiculous amount and strongly encourage your friend to ask the teacher the reason for such. I suspect they ask that amount hoping to have enough for the whole class. As for tax dollars, they have to be stretched so far these days that schools seldom have extra monies. I happen to live in a poor rural county. We have lost a lot of textile and tobacco jobs in the last few years. My school system receives far less that the amount of money needed to provide nice extra's for the children. Because most of us understand what is going on here, we spend our own monies on things for the kids to have extras rather than ask parents who may be unemployed and struggling to just feed and clothe the children. The teachers here do not ask for much beyond the pencil, paper, notebook list. Times have changed over the last 28 years that I have been working in the schools. Money is getting less and less and yet the demands on the teachers are more and more.
I wish we could go back to the days of full supply closets with a new box of 8 crayons and paper for all kids as I had in my elementary days. That box of crayons had to last each of us an entire school year! And they did.
Sorry that I have rambled but I have tried to address some of the questions that were brought up in your comments and your original message.
We live in Central Illinois, and it was $120 just to register my son and daughter for school. Then, since my kids both outgrew their P.E. uniforms, that was another $44.00 for 2 uniforms. Then, since my son is in band, that was another $40.00. Plus, he had to pay another $16 to be in industrial tech. That one I didn't mind so much, because it goes for the cost of supplies - - he will make a clock in that class. Then add in the cost of school lunches (they don't always want to pack a lunch now that they are in 8th grade and 10th grade), and there is a serious outlay of cash even before school opens. This amount doesn't include the school supply list items. The fees go up considerably when the kids here go to high school, because you have to pay extra for a lot of the classes like english, math, foreign languages, science, etc. It is Ridiculous!
Hi. I have 3 in school here in central California. 8th grade, 6th grade, and 2nd grade. We are not required to buy any school supplies except a binder, tabbed dividers, paper, pencils for the older 2. we were not asked to buy anything for the 2nd grader. Our school supplies everything (her homework folder is even "Tinkerbell." Luckily, I watched the sales at Staples and got everything very inexpensively, except the binders - which i chose to buy high-quality as last year we went through 3 or 4 cheap ones.
We do not pay a textbook or materials fee. In fact, our schools supply each student with 2 textbooks - one to stay at home for homework and one to stay at school. Thus they don't have to pack them back and forth. It also lightens their backpacks. All i have ever been asked to supply for field trips was spending money.
Some good things about Cali i guess.
As a parent, with school age children and a substitute teacher. I can understand why teacher asks for these items. For the younger grades (k-3) most of the time the supplies, especially for K are used in the classroom as a community supplies. Have you ever watched 15 - 20 kindergardens glue something with gluesticks. It's a mess, and they don't understand about a little goes a long way. The same with bottle glue. LOL - the messes I have seen.
Storage bags are used to sort store small objects. They are also used has artwork holders on the bulletin boards in the classroom. Older grade teachers also use the storage bags to hold writing assignments up on the bulletin boards.
Tissues and paper towels we know we all go through them. Our school is asking for tissues with lotion this year, I don't have a problem donating them because the tissues that the school supplies are horrible. I even had a friend donate toilet tissue throughout the year for her daughter's class because her daughter was allergic to the school issue.
Crayons are another community item, especially in the younger grades. Then if a crayon breaks, I have seen kids (mine included) that won't even touch them. LOL
Please remember that the teachers do try to get the supplies through the school but everyone is going through budget cuts. Plus if you have some hard-nose secretaries that don't easily give up the supplies, that is a big problem. We went through that last year. Apparently, some one goofed and the school had reams upon reams of 8 1/2 x 14 paper. Parent volunteers were cutting the paper before it could be copied on. The principal didn't want it wasted, which I understand but he wasn't thinking of how much time it took to cut the paper. Some teachers resorted to buying their own paper, instead of having to do that. Paper expenses is getting out of control, especially since teachers pull a lot of info all the internet for their lesson plans.
I have seen some schools that will ration out their paper each week. So I can understand why teachers are asking for paper.
When in doubt, ask the teacher, they will gladly explain what they use the items for.
Last year, my daughter's kindergarden teachers compiled a wish list. Also, please remember that if the teacher can't get it through the school or through the parents, then it comes out of their pocket. And unfortunately, they are only allowed to write off $250 for work related expenses on their tax return. I keep all my receipts, and write them off as a tax deduction because schools are non-profit organizations.
I like how some teachers ask for the beginning of the year for what supplies they need for the whole year. Now is the best time to get them (while they are on salea and starting to go on clearance) and send them in, it is very hard to get parents to send in supplies when there is only two months of school left.
Kim
In defense of teachers (because I am one) for some reason schools do not always allocate their budgets in wise fashions. I am of the opinion that Union problems only add to the loss of funds, but that's my soapbox. Things like copy paper, kleenex, and anything other than what the child may need personally to do homework should be paid for by the corportion. We pay property taxes in order to fund schools... I'm a teacher and I know where my paycheck comes from! We just need better cooperation on the part of teachers and the corporations and better management of funds and we wouldn't have lists that "suggest" 8 boxes of crayons and 24 glue sticks. That's irresponsible.
That is unreal! I remember when my kids were in elementary school they had lists of required items but nothing like your talking about.
Just because they say each child needs to bring in 35 glue sticks, doesn't mean they have to actually bring in 35 gluesticks. A nice note saying that you do not think the class will actually use 350 gluesticks during the school year, so you are sending 10, should suffice. However, gluesticks get used so quickly, I am always shocked at how fast my kids go through an entire gluestick.
Eduation as a right is something pretty exclusive to Americans. Having been in Ghana, where only those who can afford tuition can go to school, I am not as opposed to a list of supplies or a nominal fee. Teachers often need supplies that there is no budget for. I know we all pay tax dollars for education, but it still is a great deal. I wish all countries were as blessed! With that said though, I pray for the kids who need supplies...those of us who can should help these kids. Just another perspective!
Okay here in rural Indiana my kids cost $211.00 to enroll (we had homeschooled for years...holy-schmooley!) !! 2 kids, 8th grade and 4th grade.
Everything costs...it is a true shocker to us! And the kids can earn "extra credit points" for bringing in Kleenex. Now THAT makes me nuts!!
Hm, these are all hard issues. My son is in high school right now and there are fewer of these kinds of things but I can tell you the 'graphing' calculator was very expensive - $100.
I can see a variety of reasons for all of these things... The 35 glue sticks is rediculous and could only be meant to supply all the kids - what I mean is they assume not all parents will do it and they are trying to get enough for the whole year with what each child brings in total. I dont know about book fees Ive never had to deal with that but that may be the difference in taxes between what you pay where you are and the taxes in NJ - I think one way or another, they get it.
With the food - I can only think the rational is that kids work and focus better when they have a breakfast and in the real world many just do not get one. This may be the school attempt at everyone getting a good breakfast every day.
I dont have any problem saying 'I cant afford it' if I cant. If the issue is money - for real - than I would tell the school. I think some things thats Ive had to pay for may benefit the class as a whole... even if it bugged me to do it.
Its a difficult issue but there are towns around me where the taxes are 18,000 dollars a yearper family OR MORE! and they ask the parents for things... but pay for quite a bit without asking parents... but that is because there is alot of money for them.
I guess it has to come from somewhere. If I couldnt pay, I wouldnt. If I could, I would. If I thought the school was being abusive by asking - like 35 glue sticks - I would absoultely adress it.
Tracy
Geez, what school district do you live in? We are moving to Wichita in the near future and maybe I could avoid such high school expenses! I thought $168 for fees here in Indiana was crazy but wow..... Also here, the kids bring in Ziploc bags......funny, none of them came home with projects in them! And when I was helping in the classroom one day at the end of the year, I opened a cabinet that was packed full of them! What the hey?
I live in southeastern CT. In school there are activity types of fees for many things that you actually participate in, but not the type of textbook fees others have described.
In the areas where those kinds of fees are the norm, I am wondering what the property taxes are like? We live in a modest house, 3 bedroom ranch, < than 900 sq ft and our taxes are $2,800 yearly for the house.
Our town budget has gotten a no vote 3 times in a row now. The debate is centered mainly around what the Education budget demands.
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