The Rising Costs Of Going To School
The Top 5 Most Annoying School Costs According To Smart Money Magazine
Parents' Gripe: Pressure to buy, say, a dozen chocolate bars and then sell another 50 to friends and family. Your child's school fundraiser is big business. During 2005, school and school-related groups earned $1.4 billion by hawking everything from cookie dough to candles, according to the Association of Fund-Raising Distributors and Suppliers. Half of that money was raised by elementary-school volunteers (a.k.a., kids and their parents). While some schools hold just one event a year, parents could get stuck dipping into their pockets two, three or even four times between September and June if you include money spent at the annual book fair and holiday bonanza.
2. The Class Photo
Parents' Gripe: Spending nearly $50 for a full package of individual, class and sport team photos — multiple times per year!Ever wonder why the school takes so many darned pictures? Turns out those adorable snap shots are often yet another fundraiser. Only this one pulls at the heart strings. We found one photo studio based in California that advertises on its web site that it's willing to pay schools a 10% commission on all orders.
3. Classroom Supplies
Parents' Gripe: Feeling squeezed by requests from teachers to pony up for cleaning and other school supplies.School supplies are no longer limited to just notebooks and pencils. Most elementary programs now require parents to supply classrooms with basic necessities including tissues, glue sticks and books. And the requests don't stop after September. One teacher from Chatham, N.J., said parents with first graders are expected to take turns throughout the year supplying snacks for the kids.
4. School Activities
Parents' Gripe: If we don't pay, the kids can't play.Across the country, schools are starting to charge students participation fees for everything from sports to marching band. Indeed, thanks to budget pressures, the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association says more than a quarter of schools charge for kids to play on a team. If they aren't asked for cash outright, you can be sure that the students will have to raise funds through yet another fundraiser. And if that wasn't bad enough, parents have to shell out even more dough to cover the expenses for sneakers, uniforms and instruments. It's enough to make you wish your child was a coach potato
5. Senior-Year Expenditures
Parents' Gripe: Just when families are trying to scrape together every spare penny for college , they get hit with senior-year activities that cost hundreds of dollars.When it comes to senior-year expenses, the list goes on and on: There's the class ring, senior portraits and class trip. And let's not forget the prom, which includes renting a tuxedo or buying a dress. All this comes on top of fees for the SATs and college applications.
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Public School Cost Vs. The Cost Of Home School
There are many parents who would like to homeschool thier children but are put off by what they believe to be the high cost of the different curriculums. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Unless you are prepared to make lunch for your children every day and deny them every Perk that comes with attending public school, you can actually SAVE money by homeschooling your kids!
Let's face it, sending your kids off to school cost's money. According to www.schoolnutrition.org the average cost of a school lunch for 2008-2009 is $2.00.
According toThe National Center for Education Statistics (http://nces.ed.gov) the average length of a school year is 180.0 days @6.7 hours a day.
That means that just buying lunch for 1 child for a full school year will set you back $360.00, which is more than the cost of a top quality homeschool program.
If you have more than one child the cost of sending them to public school can add up very rapidly.
And thats just the tip of the iceberg!
There are many parents who would like to homeschool thier children but are put off by what they believe to be the high cost of the different curriculums. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Unless you are prepared to make lunch for your children every day and deny them every Perk that comes with attending public school, you can actually SAVE money by homeschooling your kids!
Let's face it, sending your kids off to school cost's money. According to www.schoolnutrition.org the average cost of a school lunch for 2008-2009 is $2.00.
According toThe National Center for Education Statistics (http://nces.ed.gov) the average length of a school year is 180.0 days @6.7 hours a day.
That means that just buying lunch for 1 child for a full school year will set you back $360.00, which is more than the cost of a top quality homeschool program.
If you have more than one child the cost of sending them to public school can add up very rapidly.
And thats just the tip of the iceberg!
I don't know about you folks, but when my youngest daughter was in the 3rd Grade She had 9 fund-raising events at her school! I jumped in at the beginning of the school year, and for the first fundraiser went all out to help her sell over $500 in junk to friends, neighbors, family, and co-workers. I think we got a button or something for the long days of effort.
After she turned in the funds for that project the very next day Tori brought home another program selling candles.
And then it was the candy bars.
And then it was magazines.
And then the Fun Run, where she had to run laps where she earned money for pledges for every lap she ran. I was naive, I pledged $1.00 a lap, thinking, "How many laps can she possibly run in 95 degree August heat." 42 laps! The school let my little girl run 42 laps in brutal heat to squeeze a few more dollars out of parents.
And then she came home selling Coupon Books.
And then cookie dough.
And yearbooks.
And so on.
Bear in mind that as the parent you feel, (unless you're heartless ), somewhat obligated to buy these things from your kid.
By the end of the school year I was so disgusted with these fund-raising programs that I had forbidden Tori to take part in any more of them.
The Elementary School for the last fund-raiser of the year put a minimum amount on the quantity that the kids needed to sell; Students that sold over X amount got to go on a bus outing and a pizza party.
Kids that didn't meet that criteria had to sit in the classroom and read. It broke my heart to think Tori had to sit in that classroom with 6 other kids while the rest went out and had fun. She took it like a trooper.
The School system is leveraging our love for our kids to squeeze money from parents. They are buying Big-Screen, Flat-Panel TV's and leather chairs for the office with the money they sweat out of us and our kids. They are not buying pencils and paper.
They ask us to donate the pencils and paper.
After she turned in the funds for that project the very next day Tori brought home another program selling candles.
And then it was the candy bars.
And then it was magazines.
And then the Fun Run, where she had to run laps where she earned money for pledges for every lap she ran. I was naive, I pledged $1.00 a lap, thinking, "How many laps can she possibly run in 95 degree August heat." 42 laps! The school let my little girl run 42 laps in brutal heat to squeeze a few more dollars out of parents.
And then she came home selling Coupon Books.
And then cookie dough.
And yearbooks.
And so on.
Bear in mind that as the parent you feel, (unless you're heartless ), somewhat obligated to buy these things from your kid.
By the end of the school year I was so disgusted with these fund-raising programs that I had forbidden Tori to take part in any more of them.
The Elementary School for the last fund-raiser of the year put a minimum amount on the quantity that the kids needed to sell; Students that sold over X amount got to go on a bus outing and a pizza party.
Kids that didn't meet that criteria had to sit in the classroom and read. It broke my heart to think Tori had to sit in that classroom with 6 other kids while the rest went out and had fun. She took it like a trooper.
The School system is leveraging our love for our kids to squeeze money from parents. They are buying Big-Screen, Flat-Panel TV's and leather chairs for the office with the money they sweat out of us and our kids. They are not buying pencils and paper.
They ask us to donate the pencils and paper.
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