Thursday, August 09, 2007

OUTRAGED!!!

As I was bemoaning to one of my writer buddies last night, I was distraught yesterday because do you know how much money I spent on REQUIRED school supplies?

Let’s just say a small fortune. As in hundreds of dollars.

For SCHOOL supplies, mind you, not school clothes. We haven’t even attempted that mountain yet.
But I was bewildered by all the pencils and pens and folders and erasers and calculators and headphones and lunchboxes and backpacks and pencil boxes and boxes of tissue and hand sanitizer and flash cards and index cards and compasses and protractors and rulers and highlighters and spiral notebooks and packs of post-its and accordion folders and pencil sharpeners and Ziploc bags and sharpies and crayons and markers and colored pencils I had to buy and…and…well…it sort of added up for all my kids.

You know, when *I* went to school, all that stuff was provided. They had boxes of used sh** that we just used over and over. Yeah, it was dirty and old and was probably bought in 1967, but it worked and we didn’t have to buy it brand new every year.

So what is the deal now? And don’t worry, my kids each have a big hefty FEE per student I have to pay.
This fee covers costs for…wait for it…materials and supplies.

BUT WAIT, didn’t I already freaking BUY all the materials and supplies??? What the hell does the school buy? Gold-plated textbooks?

It must have something to do with budget cuts. Because I don’t remember it ever being this bad. And yes, I’m cussing. I’m hopping mad. Maybe I’d better stop having kids. Or something. I can only see it getting more and more expensive. AAACK!

Okay, rant over. But DANG it sucks that I will be doing this every year from now on!

I was so distraught I let them have corndogs for dinner. CORN DOGS. I mean, how horrible of a mother am I? If they took pure Evil and put it in Food Form, it would be the Corn Dog. Or possibly the frozen Chimichanga. I can’t decide which is more bad for you. It’s a toss-up.

I am still depressed over it. But no time for that now. Got to take the kids to Jumpstart! Then I get to go and buy SOCCER SHOES and gear for three kids. I love my life!!!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can understand why you're outraged.

I would come up with a list of supplies you expect the school to buy for you, and invoice them regularly.

Are they in public school or private school? I never heard of such fees in public schools (although the supplies list are out of control). You already pay those fees -- they're called taxes.

Lara said...

Oh, definitely public school. Hence the outrage. And yes, I do pay some HEFTY taxes!

Anonymous said...

That's crazy, Lara! In the district where Natalie teaches, the teachers aren't even allowed to make wish lists. They can't ask the students to bring a thing.

Lowa said...

Hey, I am glad you are back! Glad I checked:)

I don't blame you for being mad, this is UNREAL. I had a few of mine try public school last year (they didn't last the whole year! LOL) and we paid far more to that then we normally do for our curriculum stuff. This time every year, I just buy a few new things of curriculum. It is FUN! New math books/computer games and just FUN things:) I got this cool huge thing yesterday at Target for $6.99. It has pages that they can colour with state bird, flower, etc. Teaches them all that stuff, but is like a gigantic colouring books. I love shopping for all that fun stuff! Teehee I hear you though, that is unreal. I am glad none of mine are going again this year. You have every right to rant.

Michelle Miles said...

I'm scared of that. I really am. I guess that's why I only have one child. LOL