Graphical Headline September 2, 2002

The Cost of Getting Started

"Can we go get my school supplies now? Today? Now? How about now?"

Back-to-school means different things to different people. To retailers, it's an important selling season and a time to gauge how shoppers will spend in the upcoming holiday selling season. To parents, it means getting their children back into their school-year routines. And to students, back-to-school means having a flurry of mixed feelings: disbelief that summer vacation could be over "already," nervousness about starting the new school year with new teachers, classmates, and (sometimes) new schools, and eagerness to see their old friends again.

Perhaps one other feeling shared by generations of students starting school has to do with the simple joys of buying and organizing new school supplies. There's something about a pack of new, freshly-sharpened pencils and a new, three-ring binder that says "anything is possible this year."

At the start of every new school year, parents and students go out and buy necessary school supplies, from pencils and notebooks to jock straps and new shoes. But starting the school year may no longer be so simple. This year, many parents and students found that getting ready for the fall term was more complicated — and expensive — than it used to be. What have you spent so far on school supplies this year? Use the table below to figure out your total costs:

Items Cost
Paper, spiral notebooks, 3-ring binders, etc.  
Pencils, pens, markers, crayons, colored pencils, glue, rulers, etc.
  
Book bags or backpacks
 
Computers and computer software
 
Calculators  
New clothes and uniforms
 
New shoes
 
Athletic equipment  
Other items  
Total  

  • Assuming that your total cost each year will remain the same until you graduate high school, how much will you spend all together, including this year? Are there any one-time costs that will not recur each year?

  • Now assume that your costs will increase an average of 10% each school year. Recalculate your per year totals and your grand total. Assuming this 10% rate of inflation, how much will you spend, including this year?
Sales Disappointing
With most of the 2002 back-to-school selling season behind them, retailers are not happy. Hot weather in early August, an overall sluggish economy, and faltering consumer confidence have meant purchases have been limited to school supplies and necessary clothing only.

Increasingly, consumers have moved online for back-to-school purchases. Over half the parents in a recent survey were going to buy some back-to-school supplies online.
Budget Crunch
 Take this example of what one elementary school required of its third-grade students this fall:
  1. two packs of pencils, sharpened
  2. pencil sharpener
  3. thin markers
  4. colored pencils
  5. two boxes of tissues to share with the class
  6. two glue sticks to share with the class
  7. three-ring binder
  8. two spiral notebooks
  9. five folders for all subjects
  10. four tennis balls for the bottom of desk chair legs
 The items are pretty basic (except perhaps for the tennis balls) but, as some parents are quick to point out, schools used to supply the pencil sharpener, crayons, glue, and tissues. As school budgets become tighter, administrators are trying to save on the kinds of materials that teachers, parents, and students have long taken for granted.

According to USA Today, the almost 100,000 public schools across the nation spend $84 billion ($84,000,000,000) a year on supplies.

  • On the average, how much does each school spend?

  • If the average school saved 20% of that expense by using volume discounts, how many dollars a year would that school save?
Unfortunately, tougher economic times have pushed school budgets to the point where cuts are more than just painful. No longer able to trim fat from their budgets, school systems are trimming muscle and bone. All across the United States, schools are losing their art and music programs. Libraries operate with part-time librarians and are open for fewer hours and with fewer resources. Elementary schools have lost their band and orchestra programs, Spanish programs, and teacher aides. Class sizes continue to grow. Full-day kindergarten programs have been shelved. New mandatory fees are popping up to cover costs for everything from buses to athletics and afterschool activities.

  • Are there noticeable effects of budget cuts in your school system? What are they?

  • Research ways in which students, parents, businesses, and other members of the school community have worked together to save programs, build new playgrounds, etc.

Amazon School?
Some business experts say that going online may prove a cheaper means for schools and school districts to buy what they need each year. Because online buying allows customers to deal directly and electronically with the supplier and because school districts can join together for "volume discounts," schools may achieve a 10%-20% savings from purchasing online.

The Value of Art
Americans for the Arts lobbys to protect all arts programs from the budget axe. According to their statistics, young people who participate in the arts for only a few hours a day, a few days each week, are four times more likely to be recognized for their academic achievement, four times more likely to win writing awards, three times more likely to be elected to class office, twice as likely to read for pleasure, and four times more likely to perform community service.

Books and Camels
 While schools suffer under the heavy burden of shrinking budgets, students suffer under the burden of heavier backpacks. In 2000, there were over 13,000 visits by students to physicians, clinics, and emergency rooms related to backpack injuries.

The cause of these injuries are situations where 80-pound kids are carrying 40-pound backpacks filled with textbooks and school supplies. Children are being called upon to shoulder heavier loads at a time when their bodies aren't yet up to it physically. Shoulder and back pains are the result of stress on weak stomach, back, and shoulder muscles and on poor flexibility. This isn't meant to be insulting or to say you are out of shape if you find your backpack getting you down. Even kids who play sports constantly often lack the appropriate strength in the right muscle groups to carry heavy backpacks without problems.
 

Since you do need to carry your books, experts offer the following backpack advice:

  1. Buy a decent backpack to use as a book bag. Camping-style backpacks may cost a little more and be a little less stylish, but they are designed to allow the wearer to carry heavier weights longer.

  2. When packing a backpack, pack it neatly so items inside won't shift. Place the heaviest items closest to your back. Wear the backpack snugly and close to your body. Backpacks with waist-hip straps will help distribute some of the weight to your hips and away from your back and shoulders.

  3. Use both shoulders when carrying your backpack; never wear it on just one shoulder! Be sure to bend your knees and lift with your legs when you pick up a heavy backpack.

  4. Use your locker! Plan your day around getting to your locker every other class.

  5. Consider purchasing and using a backpack on wheels if they are permitted in your school. This is particularly appropriate for fourth and fifth graders who might be in elementary schools without lockers.

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