The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 74/No. 34      September 6, 2010

 
Schools make parents
foot the bill for supplies
 
BY ANGEL LARISCY  
Parents are used to having to purchase a myriad of school supplies for their children each fall. This year the list has grown to include cleaning wipes, garbage bags, paper towels, and copy paper.

An increasing number of school districts throughout the United States are forcing parents to foot the bill for basic items to run the schools. This hits hardest on a working class already hammered by record unemployment, declining wages, and benefit cuts.

According to the National Retail Federation, families will spend an average of about $600 on back-to-school supplies and clothes this year—up 11 percent from 2009.

Major chains such as Staples, Office Depot, OfficeMax, and Walgreens now include janitorial and office supplies in their back-to-school specials.

While the shopping list grows, so do those workers seeking aid from free school supply giveaways across the country.

In Ft. Worth, Texas, 12,000 registered for an event offering free haircuts, eye exams, and school supplies for students—a 50 percent increase over last year. Some were refused entry because they hadn’t preregistered and there was no more room.

Hundreds lined up hours before an event in Racine, Wisconsin, offering students free backpacks loaded with school supplies. After 1,000 people received the packages, another 500 were turned away empty handed.

“They are lucky if they get one outfit for school,” Isabel Martínez of Racine said of her five children. Martínez came to the giveaway because she had just been laid off and didn’t have money for all the supplies her children need.

When parents can’t afford to buy school supplies, teachers often do. Ninety-four percent of teachers surveyed by the National School Supply and Equipment Association reported spending an average of $395 of their own money on school supplies. Some spent more than $1,000.

Denise Richardson, who teaches fifth grade in West Warwick, Rhode Island, told the Providence Journal, “It’s not like you can make a list, go into the supply closet, and get what you need. Those days are gone.” Richardson even had to buy fans to keep her classroom cool.  
 
Public schools charge fees
Public schools are increasing fees as well. The South Carolina Rock Hill school board voted to charge a $25 fee just to enroll a student. The Fairview Park school district in the Cleveland area, charges each child $60 for art supplies and workbooks.

Many schools across the nation laid off teachers this spring. In most of the largest school districts there are no plans to rehire them, even with $10 billion in federal “stimulus” money being doled out.

Los Angeles Unified, the second-largest school district in the country, laid off 682 teachers and counselors and 2,000 support workers this spring. There are no plans to rehire them because of a projected $280 million budget shortfall next year. In New Jersey, Gov. Christopher Christie uses the same argument for not rehiring the 3,000 teachers laid off in May.

On August 10 President Barack Obama signed a $26 billion federal aid package that allocates $10 billion for schools to keep or rehire teachers and other school workers. School districts don’t have to spend the money until September 2012, however, leading many to hold onto it to cover future budget shortfalls.

Even where layoffs were held off or minimal, teachers have taken hits. In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg eliminated raises for teachers. In South Carolina, several school districts are forcing workers to take a number of days of unpaid leave and cutting pay of working retirees 15 percent. Substitutes in the Iowa City school district and Valley View school district in Illinois have had their pay cut 4.5 percent. Other school workers in the Valley View district have had substantially higher pay cuts.  
 
 
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