School supplies - why not just allow parents to pay a fee?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid’s ES and MS uses School Toolbox. We order the box for the appropriate grade level and the box is delivered to the school. It works great. I believe orders were due earlier this summer, so you may have missed the deadline if your child’s school does this.

But they jack the price way up. We reuse stuff from the previous year (ie headphones and scissors) which keeps costs down. Each year the kit has new scissors and headphones. Those can easily be reused from year to year. We don’t need to buy those every year but you do if you purchase this kit. Ridiculous. DC is doing something right. Pay a fee and the school will give out the supplies. It’s way more cost effective and efficient.

THis is my thoughts. I wish I could pick the supplies for the box I need to order. My last kid is in first and I have plenty of some stuff but not another. We just bought our own stuff this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought it was a typo when the supply list said 40 glue sticks but I was told that was correct. I am not buying 40 glue sticks

Your kid will use that many.

Just send in a new pack every 6 to 8 weeks.

I promise that the glue sticks will get used. Trust the experienced parents on this one.

We always get a time back actually. I have so many!

[Anonymous]

The problem with the box is that last year's teachers pick it, so by the time the new team comes around and picks their own supplies, the lists are totally different. Th one time I chose the box, I had to buy a bunch more stuff at the beginning of the year because the box was wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought it was a typo when the supply list said 40 glue sticks but I was told that was correct. I am not buying 40 glue sticks

Your kid will use that many.

Just send in a new pack every 6 to 8 weeks.

I promise that the glue sticks will get used. Trust the experienced parents on this one.

We always get a time back actually. I have so many!

As another experienced parent, they will not use 40 glue sticks. I know this because we never are asked to bring in 40 it’s more like 6-8 and those last all year. If a school is asking for 40 it’s because only about 4 kids buy supplies and everyone else will mooch off the sucker sending in 40.

[Anonymous]

Who is asking for 40 glue sticks? The most we've ever been asked for was 12 this year for a 6th grader, which seems like too many. What are 6th graders doing with that much glue?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who is asking for 40 glue sticks? The most we've ever been asked for was 12 this year for a 6th grader, which seems like too many. What are 6th graders doing with that much glue?

They used to glue in worksheets into notebooks to make "textbooks". Very dumb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I priced out the PTA box and it wasn’t much more than buying from Amazon/Walmart. Especially given the number of each item they need.

I don’t want to send my kid with a cheaper supply list or missing items. He gives the teacher his huge box with his name on it.

Teachers talk and they size up parents. Little things matter. And my kids got sent home with extra supplies at the end of the year.

But we go to one of the nicer elementary schools.

Not based on supplies. Lol. Based on kid’s behavior.