Back-to-School Expenses: Parents Paying More

Aug. 24, 2010 — -- With budgets shrinking, many schools across the country are asking parents to buy a lot more than glue sticks to hold it all together.

Despite having received $10 billion in emergency federal government funding earlier this month to assist with shortfalls, schools are still tightening their pocketbooks when it comes to paying for supplies.

Although the intention was that the districts would spend the money on rehiring teachers and ending furloughs, some districts are holding on to the money, fearing that big deficits could be looming next year and saying that the money could prevent future layoffs.

Districts are now looking to their students to foot the bill for supplies, creating concern among many parents.

"We've heard some stories that they've said, 'Well, we might not have enough money next year. So we'll just not do anything this year.' That doesn't make any sense," said Lily Eskelsen, vice president of the National Education Association. "A kid only has one year to be a first grader."

No matter the age, it seems as though students are already receiving an early lesson in economics.

"A lot of my students come from homes where parents are unemployed," said Janet Buchser, a special needs teacher. "They're limited to what they can spend on school supplies."

The National Retail Foundation estimates that the average family will spend $96 on school supplies, which is nearly 10 percent more than last year. In fact, back-to-school spending comes in second only to the holidays.

When clothing and electronics are added in, the the national back-to-school bill could run around $55 billion.