The Soaring Price of School Supplies and How You Can Help Kids and Teachers in Need
By Abby Quillen
Environmental & Personal Wellness Expert
This article is a cross-post from our colleagues at Quill.com whose education resource center blog offers a number of resources for teachers, parents, and educators of all types.
There’s no getting around it: School supplies are expensive. And because of school budget cuts, a larger portion of the cost of outfitting classrooms falls on parents and teachers. However, some communities are devising innovative solutions from teaming up with charities to holding donation drives and launching crowdfunding campaigns, to make sure students have much-needed school supplies. Read on to learn why so many schools struggle to pay for supplies and discover ways you can help stock a classroom near you while easing the burden on parents and teachers.
Supplying Cash-Strapped Schools
Schools were hit hard by the 2008 recession and the subsequent slow economic recovery. In fact, 35 states provided less overall state and local funding per student in 2014 than they did in 2008.
Districts in low-income areas have struggled most. They don’t receive as much property tax revenue as schools in wealthier areas and are thus most vulnerable to state budget cuts. They tend to also receive less money from Parent Teacher Association (PTA) fundraising. Furthermore, parents in disadvantaged areas have the hardest time purchasing items on the supply lists schools send home at the beginning of the school year.
Supply lists have been around for decades, but today’s lists often include items schools once provided, such as multiple reams of copy paper, paper towels, paper cups, trash bags, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and bandages. Flash drives, headphones, and calculators are also commonly required. Some schools request parents buy expensive brands of items because the quality is better. And other schools charge a supply fee in addition to sending out the supply list. The costs add up for parents.
According to the Huntington Backpack Project, elementary-school parents spend about $195 per student per year for supplies. Middle school parents shell…
