Puplic high school is costing me a fortune...

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Seriously! I am going to have to use a credit card for public school!

SHe is in Honors language. TWO required books that need to be purchased BEFORE school starts. $20.00

Dance.. Dance clothes and shoes. $90.

Marching band.. OMG! I am up to about $500 in marching band alone...

I haven't even gotten school supplies, clothes, or acceptable highschool girl shoes.

I honestly am not sure what to do. I didn't know high school was so expensive.

[ThreeBeans]

How old is she? Does she earn money she can contribute?

[Potty Diva]

Time for an afterschool job

For Kailey she can do one sport/activity at a time.

When she is in high school the same will apply (we'll pay for ONE activity), if she wants to be involved in more she can, with her own money from an afterschool or weekend job. The catch is that school comes firat and if her grades drop she has to quit her job and activities.

[Potty Diva]

So I would say if she is too young to cntribute to tese fees then something has to go.

[Marcee]

My oldest is in Middle school and I am already feeling your pain. He plays Football, Basketball, and Baseball (outside of school) and he also plays these sports (basketball and football) for the school as well. Plus we have to add in gym shoes and uniform. As well as school supplies and clothes (although he is not picky so the clothes and shoes part is not to bad) Additionally we have two in elementary that play the same sports outside of school. So yep our pocket is pinched too!

[SusanElizabeth]

Yes. And in our (PUBLIC) schools the kids get a list of supplies that they must have that is just ludicrous. No matter how much people have complained about it, it never changes. They need a separate loose leaf bind for each subject, and a list of supplies that is mind-boggling: 6 binders, spiral notebooks, a calculator, Kleenex, staplers, white out, red pens, blue pens, reinforcements, a hole punch, etc. etc. I have spent about $70 or more per child at the beginning of the school year on required supplies. When I was in school, we needed what ? one notebook? I don't understand what's going on. And I'm not even talking about sports, and other extracurricular activities....It's ridiculous.

[Potty Diva]

I curious why parents feel obligated to pay for so many sports and activities for their kids?

[Bestbirths]

Our schools here cost a fortune too. On the other hand, Unschooling can be expensive too. We paid $3,000 in parts for our son to put together his gaming computer, and for a long time our unschooling daughter worked to pay $1,000 in riding lessons. We pay $50 bucks a year for xbox live, and then pay every month for WOW and FFXI subscriptions, pay a small fortune for super speedy internet connections, and have to get every new game that is a must have that comes out. One of my sons likes golf, which is an expensive sport, and my other daughter likes scrapbooking. It's all che ching, che ching, che ching!

[Potty Diva]

Um...

Again why do parents do this?

What does it teach our kids?

What ever happened to earning things on their own?

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Originally Posted by Potty Diva

Um...

Again why do parents do this?

What does it teach our kids?

What ever happened to earning things on their own?

Well, in our case, the only thing that is optional here is marching band. She still has to take a P.E class. I would still have to buy P.E clothes. They apparently have p.e clothes in highschool too. But, she chose dance as her P.E credit. She has been dancing since she was little, and I have always paid for that.

I just found out tonight that they will be asked to bring a special calculator that will cost about $100.

I guess as far as the "extra curricular" stuff, I feel like it is a productive way to keep her busy, and out of trouble. If she sticks with band, she has a place to belong where she is expected to behave a certain way, or lose her spot on the band.

But, I was completely unprepared for the costs of all of this.

She does babysit a little. But, her money is going towards a new lap top that she wants, and if she has any left over, Id like her to buy her clothes with it.

[Potty Diva]

That I understand.

I'm sure I'll be shocked at the costs of things when Kailey hits high school as well.

Thanks for explaining.

[fadedblack166]

Wow I'm surprised you have to pay for books for honors classes :. At my school they provide them for us, we do have to pay a lot of money for calculators though.

[Susie1]

I am pretty sure that by law, public schools cannot require families to pay for anything. Everything must be equal access. Donations may be requested aggressively, but all students have equal opportunity to sports, honors classes, marching bands, field trips etcetera by law. Lack of ability to pay must never exclude anyone. Schools may request money and then allow for students to request scholarships if they are unable to pay. Inquire about scholarships for field trips, uniforms and anything else the school says you have to pay for. This might make it easier.

[smillerhouse]

IN my experience, it gets more expensive as they get older. We have hsed all along (except ages 6 and 9) They are now 14 and nearly 17. I choose but choose to support lots of interests. Currently this means volleyball (camps,cvlub,private vice lessons for dd). For my son, he drives, games,fences. I set limits and require they work (for me) beyond that. Sallie

[Alkenny]

We are fortunate to live in a school district that has alot more available. DD will be in marching band, choir, orchestral band, and cross country this fall.

Our only costs? Shoes for both band and cross country. We had bought her a clarinet for junior high which she still uses and will in orchestral band, but the school even provided the melophone for her to use in marching band.

As for supplies....about $20-$50 is about righ for supplies. We had to buy our own supplies when I was in school too, so this isn't a big deal or surprise to me.

Dances? Clothes? Thrift stores, baby! We are also fortunate that I have a friend that sends hand-me-downs to my DD and she is a very no-nonsense sort of girl. I can't recall the last time I bought her new clothes besides shoes, socks or undies...it's probably been YEARS. It's just not an issue.

And as for 'equal opportunity' for sports...nope, not true at all. Some schools have been hit hard with industries closing around here, losing alot of tax money. That tax money pays for those things, and when they're down they can still have the sports but have it 'pay to play'. And education has to be provided for free, but extra curriculars do NOT.

[Houdini]

Originally Posted by Susie1

I am pretty sure that by law, public schools cannot require families to pay for anything. Everything must be equal access. Donations may be requested aggressively, but all students have equal opportunity to sports, honors classes, marching bands, field trips etcetera by law. Lack of ability to pay must never exclude anyone. Schools may request money and then allow for students to request scholarships if they are unable to pay. Inquire about scholarships for field trips, uniforms and anything else the school says you have to pay for. This might make it easier.

Our school district is pay to play b/c they lack money for it to be any other way. The school levy hasn't passed for many years and the district has slowly cut out extras and required payment for sports/band. They don't have scholarships for extracurricular stuff b/c it is just that....extra. It isn't required for them to participate.

As far as the books and such. I would ask the teacher if he/she has any copies your daughter could borrow. They may have a stash for just this purpose. The calculator could go the same way or see if you can get it cheaper elsewhere.

If your daughter is getting the medical card/state medical assistance, check about the school fees being paid by the state. In our state, they pay for whatever school fees are at the beginning of the year (workbooks and such). The jr high here requires a calculator for our son and they are checking as to whether the state will pay for it. It is only 13.50 though so we could swing that fine b/c we have notice.

[Katheda]

The $100 calculator is a good investment that will take her through college and on. I still use my TI-85 regularly as does my oldest daughter for her schooling (although she prefers her dads HP). Anyway, I totally wouldnt' balk at the price of the calculator because they can do so much and when taken care of, can last a very long time.

[mtiger]

Originally Posted by nextcommercial

If she sticks with band, she has a place to belong where she is expected to behave a certain way, or lose her spot on the band.

You may want to do some independent research regarding the standards of behavior in marching band. What do you think the kids do on their down time at competitions? I can tell you that they're not playing checkers.

Originally Posted by Houdini

As far as the books and such. I would ask the teacher if he/she has any copies your daughter could borrow. They may have a stash for just this purpose. The calculator could go the same way or see if you can get it cheaper elsewhere.

Also try the library.

[kluella]

There are definitely ways to cut these costs. The books can be gotten on amazon or a used book store, or from the library. The calculator can be gotten on ebay, you might also see if she has older friends that graduated hs and won't need theirs anymore. Mine was a christmas present from my parents: previously I used one of the school's. We had a checkout system and there were about 20 or so that could be borrowed. I passed mine on to my younger brother, so if you have other dc then you should only need to buy one, unless they're going on to do math in college.(I tested out of it) They are also really helpful for standardized tests like the SAT and ACT.

And if you need help with marching band costs, talk to the director. There's usually a fund to help lower income families. When I was in orchestra they guaranteed that everyone would be able to participate at little or no cost.

[CarrieMF]

It seems expensive but it is still cheaper than some other school options.

The calculator can be passed down to other kids if you have them.

Band equipment & uniforms can be purchased 2nd hand. They can also be sold the following year to make money for the new stuff.

I would definitly have her pay for all her clothes with her babysitting money. THAT is going to be the biggest expense & unless she's had a major growth spurt she really doesn't need much new stuff anyhow.

The books, $20 is nothing. Wait until college when the cheapest book is $60 if that.

acceptable highschool girl shoes

What do acceptable highschool girl shoes look like? IMO unless they are gym shoes this is something else she can purchase.