When does spending less really mean spending more?

Answer:  When your kids go back to school.

According to the New York Times, parents are spending less on certain school items - like clothing, because money is tight.  Sound familiar?  Its not just in our own Montgomery County Public School District.

However, one expense has increased - and that is school supplies.  When money is tight, schools try to do more with less, and often items we took for granted when we were in school - like scissors, paper, and glue - are in short supply, so parents are asked to chip in.

Montgomery County is not alone in facing more students who can't afford school supplies.  Is this a factor at your school?

The NYTimes notes:

 Of the more than one million K-12 students enrolled in New York City public schools last year, 74 percent came from “economically disadvantaged” households, meaning that they qualified for free or reduced-price lunches and other assistance programs, according to data from the education department.

About 84,000 homeless students attended school in New York City during the 2013 school year, up 25 percent since 2010, according to the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness. A majority of those students do not live in shelters, which means they often miss the benefits of backpack drives and other fund-raisers aimed at low-income families, said Linda Bazerjian, a spokeswoman for the group.

. . . 

The gap between rich and poor, private school and public school, can be evident in lists for school supplies, and who comes prepared. Mr. Schulist says that one of his school lists requires students to bring 100 pencils, which helps compensate for children whose families can afford no pencils at all.

Underfunded schools are a problem nationwide.   Think about what your school provides, and whether all children are able to come to school prepared to learn.  And whether the gap just gets bigger instead of smaller with each new school year.