Mom to Mom

[chrystaltree]

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@scatcat wrote:

I would take the list of name brand school supplies with a grain of salt. I'm guessing this is a public school. So if a kid shows up with Target pencils instead of Ticonderoga, what will happen? If the kid shows up with 1 box of tissue  instead of 4 (we're talking $1 a box), what will happen? They are not going to kick the kid out of school. Personally, besides the $110 calculator my kids need for hs math, school supplies are cheap. 25 cents for notecards, 25 cents for spirals.  Kids in our district get free or reduced lunches and no one sits out a field trip. On a side note, our teachers are very well paid and have great benefits. And work the least number of hours allowed by the state. My kids constantly have late arrival or early dismissal to make time for their meetings. The teachers are not made to work overtime for these meetings. But these are 1st world problems, which aren't problems at all.

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       What will happen you ask?  I once bought 6 notebooks and a 3 hole binder  for one of my girls.  The list said  the notebooks and binder should be 6 (or maybe it was 5) holes.  I misread the list.  What difference did it make....I thought.  The teacher sent the items home with snippy note to me and apparently acted out enough that my girl was practically in tears.  I had to go out and get the "right" items to calm her down and make the teacher happy.  Another time, we were supposed to buy colored folders with pockets.  I brought manilla folders with pockets home from work with me.  The teacher sent them home with a copy of the list and she circled "colored".  The thing is first they get the kids all upset, kids are easily intimidated and all the kid wants you to do is make it right. 

[rustee]

Why would you pay $110 for a calculator?  You can pick one up for between $5-$10 just about anywhere!

[TaylorBrown]

Boy oh boy is this a hot button topic for me.  I dread seeing the school supply lists come out each year. I don't have a problem providing supplies for MY children.  The teacher/school can list whatever brand names they want, my children are going to get what I buy.  As for supplies like tissues and hand sanitizer I understand the need, but will only supply one box of tissue, not four.  In a 20-25 student class, why do you need 4 boxes per child?  Not happening.  I usually purchase one large bottle of sanitizer, for the class.  I used to give my extras to the classroom or school for students who may be in need but no longer do.  I figure there are parents who purposely don't buy or plan to buy supplies because they know there will be extras. Oh, and the glue sticks--good grief!! The list will request 10-15 of them.  I will buy them but send them with my student one at a time.  When the first stick is finished they can get another one from the cabinet at home and take it to school.

As I type, I wonder what will be on the list for the 2017-2018 schol year.  Ugh!

[Lynnster67]

I don't have kids, but I've been told the school supply lists provided to parents include things like kleenex, paper towals, hand sanitizer, etc.

My county holds a backpack give away shortly before the start of the school year and always runs out.

My employer's foundation adopted an inner city school in DC and ppl can volunteer to fill the backpacks to be given away w/supplies purchased by the foundation.

[Lynnster67]

I live in Montgomery (also one of the wealthiest counties in USA) and it's pretty much the same situation on my side of the river.

MCPS constitutes 1/2 of the county's budget, but there doesn't seem to be any accountability on how MCPS spends that $$$.

They are (gradually) providing every student w/Google Chromebook, which has textbooks loaded on it.

[Lynnster67]

Some PTAs raise $$$ better than others.  There are some schools in my county where the PTA has raised more than $1 million!  The school board says that widens the inequality gap and is thinking about somehow putting everything in a common pool and skewing redistribution toward the less affluent school clusters.

[Sooner]

Every year I see these absurb supply lists at stores and I think how on earth can kids spend time on information if they are using all this stuff.  You don't need all this stuff to learn.  Looks like a way to keep them busy and quiet to me.

And no, not every child can have or afford the same supplies.  So keep it to a minimum.

Tissue?  Who has their office or place of work buy their tissues.

I think a lot of what is spent on education is wasted these days.  My blunt opinion and I'm old, so maybe it's just me.  

[Lynnster67]

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@CaryH wrote:

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@Annabellethecat66 wrote:

My daughter lives in Fairfax County, Va (it is one of the wealthiest places in the US).  Yet, these kids aren't given books to take home because (supposedly) the county doesn't have the money for them.  I could go on but you'd find it boring and you wouldn't be surprised because it's pretty much the same everywhere.  My point is even as wealthy as Fairfax County is they still cry "we're poor".  The money at the top is mismanaged.  It's as simple as that.  You see it everywhere, why should the school system be any different.  In Va everyone was so excited to vote FOR gambling because the money was going to go to the schools.  Has it?  Obviously, not! The gambling in the metro area has not been in Va but in Maryland. Va isn't going to get a dime of that.

I mentioned earlier about Fairfax County being a wealthy part of the country, and it is.  However, that's why it's so easy to see how the money is mismanaged from the top.  They have an enormous budget, lots of money coming in, yet they are 'supposedly' always struggling (in the schools for money, I mean). Yes there is still a deficit but its not as big as it was. We NEED people to vote YES on the ballot in November for the Meals Tax. That will be a good start in generating money to go to the schools. But remember about Fairfax County, its the 10th largest school district in the country and has over 186,000 students and it DOES have the largest fleet of buses in the country. Schools ARE struggling.

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In MD, I *think* 50% of the state's share of gambling $$$ is supposed to be directed to the school systems.  All this means is that they can direct $$$ that other wise would be spent on schools to other parts of the budget and still claim that gambling profits are benefitting kids (i.e., minimal incremental spending).

[Lynnster67]

She was referring to specialized graphing calculators

[CalminHeart]

I started school in 1959 and always had a supply list to buy.  My kids started school in 1990 and always had to buy supplies.   My gradeschool nieces and nephews have to buy supplies.  This is how it will is and will continue until politicians realize that education is important and stop slashing its state and federal budgets every year.