Paying for public school

[annettemarie]

OK, in the interest of full disclosure we homeschool. My oldest, who is entering sixth grade, did go to public school from first through third grade, but we've been homeschooling ever since. Additionally, while I went to public school for my last two years of high school, before that I was in a private Catholic school. I do have a degree in music education and did masters work in education as well, and took all the educational history classes, but my public school experience is somewhat limited.

A friend of mine was telling me about "textbook rental fees" her public school charges. They seemed outrageously high to me. Other friends then mentioned that they had to pay for things like using the school bus as well.

Now, I know that public school isn't "free" per se. I know when I was there, we had to buy school supplies, gym uniforms, rent instruments, pay entree fees to choral festivals, pay for AP exams, stuff like that. When my oldest was in school, we actually weren't allowed to buy school supplies for him-- everything was provided by the school district. Even when I was in Catholic school, I went to public school once a week for a pull out program, and they were legally required to let me because it was a program our Catholic school didn't have.

So, I guess now I'm curious-- what do you have to pay for to attend public school? And what if you can't pay it? And if anyone can clarify to me how public schools can charge when I thought all children in America were guaranteed a free education (although maybe I am misremembering that and it's not a guaranteed right?) I would really appreciate that as well.

[whatsnextmom]

Well, we paid for nothing K-5th. The school took care of supplies and such. Instruments are rent free through 8th grade for those who don't own or rent their own.

6th grade was our most expensive year and that was because we needed to get DD a P.E. uniform and lock for her P.E. locker (which she used all 3 years.) She also had a short list of supplies. It was still under 40 bucks. There were some extra pay options in middle school. 6th grade camp was 300 dollars. The show choir went to a big competition involving travel and that was another 300. Both those events were optional and the school offered fundraising opportunities for all and financial aid if you needed it.

We're heading into high school with our eldest. We'll need to buy a new P.E. uniform. She will have a supply list of her own consumable items like folders, pencils, paper, ect. There may be fees for AP exams this year but the district has paid them in the past. Testing is now optional and we won't have to pay the fees until test time.

Textbook fees are illegal in our state as are most other fees (perhaps why we get pounded for having high education costs in our state.) School busses have been charging for a long time. I know you had to buy tokens when I was in high school and that was 20 years ago! I always drive my kids because they don't go to our "home" schools. Most kids either walk of are driven in our area. I understand the fee. Busses are so expensive to fuel and keep running. The fee isn't even the total cost of the bussing. The district still pays a good chunk of it. Is it fair? No. Is it avoidable? Not really.

[zinemama]

We aren't required to pay for anything except school supplies and field trips.

HOWEVER. The school sends a letter at the beginning of each year. It's called the Grateful Request (which, as an editor, makes me crazy). Basically, they ask parents for $100 per student and detail what this money will go toward. It's all programs that the district has cut or doesn't want to fund and are important to most of us (art, science lab supplies, music). I have no idea how many parents respond to this letter. We do.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Here public school dosnt cost anything other than breakfast and lunch and special things like year books or pictures. The books are paid for by the state busing is provided free of charge as well since the vast majority of people couldnt afford to pay for it and the vast majority of kids would have absolutely no way to school without the bus.

Class trips are paid for through the state only on occasion do we have to pay a $1 or 2 literally it is rarely more than that. This holds true for headstart all the way through 12th.

I am always shocked to hear about public schools charging book rental fees and stuff like that. Parents provide pencils and paper and stuff of that nature but that is it.

Tennessee here.

[annettemarie]

Thanks for the input so far! I wanted to add, if you feel comfortable saying what state you're in, could you? I'm in PA. I guess I always assumed it was a federal mandate for free public schools (and again, I wish I could remember from Foundations in Education where that mandate came from), and hadn't thought it was at the discretion of individual states.

I wanted to add, we live a small-to-medium sized city. One of the reasons we were told that sending in individual supplies for students was discourages is because not all the kids could afford them and so it was easier for the district to buy in bulk and distribute to the elementary kids.

[StephandOwen]

DS is entering 1st grade in a public school in Lexington, Kentucky. He is required to bring

-4 glue sticks
-2 packs yellow #2 pencils
-2 boxes 24 count Crayola crayons
-1 Mead Composition book
-2 large boxes tissues
-1 backpack
-1 bottle pump hand sanitizer
-1 box washable Crayola markers
-1 clipboard
-1 2-pocket folder

In addition they have a wish list of

-1 wooden ruler
-1 container wet-ones
-1 large pink eraser
-1 box band-aids
-1 roll paper towel

My little sister is entering 3rd grade at a public school in Michigan (in a tiny town) and they don't have to bring anything except a backpack.

Around here they are having 5 locations in neighborhoods around the city this saturday where you can go and get free school supplies if you can't afford them. I don't know how they verify it or if it's on an honor system (I know you have to bring the child with you to get the supplies).

[StephandOwen]

And I have to say I'm one of *those* parents who doesn't pay too much attention to the lists. I get everything on them, but not necessarily the brand. I'm not paying $2.50 for a Mead composition book when I can get the same darn thing in an off brand for $.25! FFIL told me to just get a sharpie and write MEAD on it

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

The school lists we never bought from them at least not most of the stuff on it only what we felt dd truly needed so pencils, crayons and paper and the brands that where cheapest. Seriously why would I spend a $1 for crayola crayons when I can get generic ones for .10 at the dollar store.

This year the parents have vetoed the lists so they are no longer allowed to send them out.

[cycle]

DS will be in K this year and I know we will have a supply list but we don't yet. I saw last years, its not too much, just basic like what pp Steph posted. I have no problem buying his supplies and supplies for the classroom. We live in a very, very good district, people are on lists from out of district to send their children here as tuition students so I feel lucky that we are in this district. Public schools are taking huge, huge hits financially so for me its being in this district or private school, I would prefer to support this district and have ds also be a part of the wonderful community that we have here as well. I don't have a problem getting exactly whats on the list, if the teacher specified a brand of something I bet there is a reason why, she has years of experience and probably knows a thing or two about what works and what doesn't.

[cycle]

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X

The school lists we never bought from them at least not most of the stuff on it only what we felt dd truly needed so pencils, crayons and paper.

This year the parents have vetoed the lists so they are no longer allowed to send them out.

I don't get "vetoing" the lists. If parents don't supply this stuff for the kids then its on the teachers, there is NO MONEY in the public school budgets, its just not there. Yes we pay taxes that ideally pay for public schools, but it just doesn't cover everything any more. I just don't get this attitude. FTR, I work for a foundation that raises money for public schools, so I know about the shortages in public school budgets.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

They vetoed them because of the things they where wanting ie higher priced items and things like hand sanitizer and kleenex. The schools here are given money for the soap and kleenex and the asking for high priced items was what got the lists vetoed.

If they had just been asking for X number of folders, pencils etc it wouldnt have been a problem since parents buy that stuff any way we just need to know how many.

[kriket]

I'm in Ohio
Our PS HS uses the city busses with reduced fair passes. We are also land of charter schools. DPS has 6 highschools, 2 alternative schools, a technology, and a college prep. 24 pK-8, and 33 charter schools. And 2 high risk "life skills" style campuses for teens and young adults.

To the best of my knowledge, aside from 1, which is a school for the arts, they don't charge for anything. I know Ohio you can open enroll in any school in your district. You can even enroll in private school if you are in an under preforming school.

So there are options in my area. And there are a lot of programs for families who can't afford what costs they do have. Scholarships, gov't programs, vouchers etc.

[JollyGG]

I'm in South Dakota. We buy the general school supplies at the beginning of the year. We have a local charity that distributes free backpacks and school supplies at the beginning of the year for families that can't afford it. No verification on need or income needed, but you must bring you child with to pick it up.

Families are asked for a $1 or $2 for field trips and class parties. My son attends a school with a number of low income families and if families can't come up with the money it's never a big deal. I'm on the PTA and we try to cover a lot of that stuff from the PTA fundraisers. The school also routinely applies for grants for activities to be provided for free. So this year our school got a grant for fruit and veggie snacks, we also use some extra title one funding to pay for some family nights at school, ect.

In our old school we didn't have title one funding, but it was a higher income school district and they had more successful PTA fund raising as a result so rarely had to charge for much there either.

Busing is free.

[St. Margaret]

I teach in CA, and we have foundations (kinda nice/fancy area where I teach) that work really hard to raise money to pay for all kinds of programs. So they are always fundraising. They also put on awesome luncheons twice a year for the teachers, with door prizes I like that part!

Some of the honors English classes have had kids buy their books, so they can annotate them; they have a night at a bookstore with discounts, but of course it's not REQUIRED and the kids can still check out the books and use post its-- seems a bit fishy to me and I only did it one year b/c the kids REALLY wanted to have their own books to just write in. I still felt VERY odd about some kids being singled out with library texts.

The schools here are very aware of not charging for things, because they know some political groups will jump on that, if we violate "free and public education." That said, we teachers of course still ask for people to send in boxes of tissues and paper towels and hand sanatizer, b/c the kids don't carry hankies like I do, they spill their energy drinks they're not allowed to have in the classroom, and they come to school terribly sick. And I buy some at the start of the year but MAN we go through it fast and I hate to be buying that stuff for the kids. I do have some pen/cils and paper-- you would not believe all the upper middle class kids who come to class daily with an iphone, a backpack full of food, designer clothes, etc, but no paper. They end up trading gentle mocking for it, though (the folder with the paper has a sign about "wow you came to English class with no paper, really?" and the pens have enormous flowers on the tops). At the same time, I make it VERY clear that if someone is in a situation where their family really can't afford supplies, they should come to me privately if they like and I will set them up for the whole term. Because I have had students like that in my old district, and it's heartbreaking.

Kids still have to pay lab fees most places. I remember having to buy special PE clothes and pay for taking shop class, like that. Certainly for special things like band or performance troupes, for singing, etc, there are associated costs.

I think it's a bit wobbly. Schools are supposed to have wavers and scholarships but I imagine if a parent made a big stink they couldn't really charge them for their kid being in something... at the same time, the focus is MUCH more on "we want the best for our kids and this is what it's going to take, we've got to step up and get it done for them, not let them suffer b/c CA's education budget is a joke."

[Geofizz]

OH - snooty neighborhood, rising 3rd grader

$25 activities fee (required, I suspect waiveable for hardship)
~$40 very specific supplies list. No one checks carefully if you don't bring it in, though it is very much expected (and they'd run short of a few things, requesting one item per kid)
~$25/year for field trips (paid for by PTO, but they ask that you cover your kid's cost. Not required, but...)

Snack for 24 kids ~15 school days per year (<- I go super cheap with things like popcorn in baggies)

Add PTO membership ($15/yr, only way to get the school directory), pictures (minimum $15), yearbook ($20), Christmas gifts and end-of-year gift and teacher appreciation stuff coordinated by room mom: ~$30/year

Occasional after school activities all cost, too.

Busing is free if you live in the neighborhood boundary of the school but more than 2 miles from the school. That covers .... no one, since every school is in the middle of a 1.5 mile radius neighborhood. (Busing will be covered for DD to travel between middle school and HS for math; later between HS and the uni)

I haven't heard anything about renting textbooks.

[joycenjackiesmom]

I wanted to start a thread on this very topic when I came here tonight because I was feeling that the fees/supply lists for my 2 DDs is excessive--and from reading the replies to this thread it seems many would agree. The fees aren't technically required but are built into the budget so if they aren't paid other areas of the schools will have to reduce their budgets and are waived for students who recieve free or reduced lunch.

For DD1 entering 6th grade in a middle school this year: Fees $309 which includes the fee for a 5 day outdoor lab program--I am not sure if it includes all fieldtrips. The following is her supply list:

* Two 2-inch D-ring binders with pockets in the front and back.
(NO ZIPPERED TRAPPERS!!)
* Five 2-pocket folders that are three-holed punched (plastic folders are
the most durable)
* Two 2-pocket folders with brads
* One large ream of wide-ruled loose-leaf notebook paper per trimester
* Three 200 page composition books, wide ruled
* Two black “Sharpie” ultra-fine tipped markers
* An abundant supply of pencils with erasers (please sharpen before
school begins)
* Several dark blue or black ink pens
* Two highlighting pens of different colors
* A set of colored pencils (a set of 12 will be adequate)
* A set of fine lined colored markers (a set of 10 will be adequate)
* Two red pens for grading
* A roll of scotch tape
* Several glue sticks
* One 8oz. bottle of Elmer’s glue
* A ruler with standard and metric markings
* Scissors
* Flash drive (zip drive) –minimum 2GB
* A zippered pencil bag or pencil box
* Two boxes of tissue (to be turned in to Advise teacher)
* A basic inexpensive calculator
* Two packages of 5 tabbed dividers
* Disposable camera
* Two fine tipped dry erase markers
* One package of 1 x 1 and one package of 3 x 3 Post-it notes
* Last names starting with A-D Paper towels
E-H Quart size zip lock bags
I-M Sanitized Wipes
N-S Sandwich size zip lock bags
T-Z Gallon size Zip lock bags

Optional donations:
Scrapbook paper, fun stickers, shaped scissors



For DD2 entering second grade: Fees: $50 plus optional $4.00 for music, art and field day. And the following supply list (no names on anything)
4 packages #2 pencils, 2 packages thin dry erase markers, 8 glue sticks, 2 wide rule spiral notebooks, red and blue, 1 primary picture space composition book, 1 box 64 crayons, 12 colored pencils, 12 inch ruler, 2 pairs of scissors, 2 each plastic folders with pockets and prongs red, blue, green, yellow, purple, 1 box gallon ziplock bags, 4 sharpies (black or blue), 1 box thin crayola markers, 1 pencil sharpener, 1 package wide rule notebook paper, 1 each highlighters , pink, yellow, green, 1 calculator (this is the one item that should have a name on it), 1 box tissues, 1 box medium or large bandaid, white view binder 1 1/2 inch with 5 dividers For art: sketch book, box of colored markers, For music: 1 red folder with pockets, Girls: 1 package sharpened pencils, Boys 2 thin tipped dry erase markers any color.



In addition to all of this I will end up purchasing supplies my own students don't have as well as tissues, snacks and supplies for classroom activities throughout the year.

[LynnS6]

An entering 1st grader and an entering 4th grader.

They have a 'recommended' supply list that will cost us about $20-30 per kid. Less if I remember to buy the loss leaders from Office Depot, etc.

That's it.

Our school is a Title I school and low income. They really don't expect parents to provide anything (over 80% are free/reduced lunch). I usually send in extra school supplies because some families really can't afford them.

They ask for a contribution toward field trips and other small things. It's a small amount they ask for ($5, I usually send $10). The PTO raises money throughout the year, and we contribute toward that.

Starting in high school, I know that activity fees can get really pricey. The schools have no money for coaches, uniforms, transportation.

[2xy]

Originally Posted by annettemarie

I guess I always assumed it was a federal mandate for free public schools (and again, I wish I could remember from Foundations in Education where that mandate came from), and hadn't thought it was at the discretion of individual states.

I don't ever recall reading that public school was required to be free. The Federal government leaves most of the legislation up to individual states, and that includes how much of education is publicly funded. The Republican party tried more than once to get rid of the Federal Dept. of Ed altogether, deeming it an unconstitutional intrusion into state and family business.

I know that because our laws require kids to be educated, people feel that school should be free. Our laws also require kids to be fed and sheltered, but that doesn't mean food and housing is free.

ETA: I went to public school in Hawaii (a hundred years ago, so my memory might not be the greatest). We had a supply list every year, both for personal supplies and classroom supplies. We had to buy a gym uniform starting in 7th grade. I think typing students had to provide their own paper, and if you studied higher math, a scientific calculator was necessary. We never had textbooks fees or yearly student fees, AFAIK.

The biggest stink I ever heard about was actually regarding our high school graduation, because girls were required to wear white dresses and boys were required to wear white dress shirts and dark trousers under our ceremonial gowns. Some families balked at that.

[Rosegin]

We have "book fees" of about $80-$150 depending on the grade and a list of supplies. You can apply for free/reduced lunches and free books (the income guidelines are really high).

I have no problem with a school supply list that asks for Crayola crayons. Nearly every store around here sells them for 25 cents a box at this time of year. As far as I'm concerned, there is no other crayon. lol

Oh, and I'm in Indiana.

[Owen'nZoe]

WI here, and my son is entering 1st grade. We're required to pay:

$47 for school/textbook fees
~$40 in school supplies (including some things for general classroom use, like dry erase markers, kleenex) + an extra pair of tennis shoes to be kept at school (listed as absolutely necessary)
~$25 for field trip fees

Snack and Lunch cost about $4 a day, and we are asked to send in several boxes of snack foods for the classroom for kids who forget/can't afford a morning snack.

It certainly adds up!