Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. It’s an old mantra. Applied to kids, early to bed, early to rise is a sign that the school year has arrived.Enforcing new bed times for the unwilling is just half the battle for parents of school age children. The other half is coming up with the wealth to purchase extra school supplies.Myoung Reed and Sandy Smith, two School District 49 moms, talked about the money and time challenges that roll around every school yearReed is the mother of three elementary age students, ranging from age 4 plus to 7 plus. She said finding all the supplies her children needed required shopping at two stores. Reed cut costs by reusing school supplies from last year like crayons, markers, coloring pencils and binders. “That helped cut down the cost,” she said. “A pencil is a pencil.”And it might benefit Reed to save as much as possible. The older the kids, the costlier the supplies, said Smith, mother of a college student, a senior at Falcon High School and a seventh grader.At the high school level, supplies for the students’ core classes are covered, Smith said. However, selective classes and extracurricular activities can drain the pocketbook. Take the high school musical, for example. “It costs a lot of money to put on a musical,” she said. “They have to build the scenery, and they have to have all the props. There is just not money in the regular budget to pay for that.”Smith, who is a member of the D 49 Building Accountability Advisory Committee, said she believes the high school money is budgeted wisely. “With my involvement at the high school, they do not waste money up there,” Smith said.” They are using every dime as best as they can.”Smith said she spent close to $400 on her daughter’s senior year. However, she said the money is worth it. “I have no problem supporting the extra things that are required for the high school,” she said. “I’m investing in my child’s future.”Reed’s Meridian Ranch First Grade Expenses$35 Supplies$15 Classroom fee to cover the cost of the following:
- Daily Planner
- National Geographic Magazine
- Cooking Center Ingredients
- Consumable Science Kit Supplies
- Class Rewards and special project requirements (i.e. paper mache, etc.)
- Extra expense for any field trips
- National Geographic Explorer magazine subscription
- Special projects
- Composition notebooks
- Science supplies
- Center supplies
- Planners
- Extra expense for any field trips
- Art (ceramics) – $20
- Choir (music) – $25 *Paid each semester
- Choir (dress) – $49
- Musical – $15
- Parking – $20
- Science (lab fees) – $10
- Student council – $25
- Yearbook – $65
- Fall cheer – $60
- Winter cheer – $30 *Extra cost are incurred for uniforms if the team goes to state
- Family pass for all Falcon High School home athletic events (optional) – $50
