Video: Back To School Supply List Madness

By: Salena Schaffer

NEW HOPE, Miss. (WCBI)-

Hand sanitizer. Tissues. And paper towels. These may sound like items on your grocery list. But for many parents, this is required buying for back to school. Multiply that by several children – and it can get pricey. But if your child attends school in Lowndes County, the list just got a lot shorter.

Some of these lists are getting out of hand and can be costing parents big bucks. However, Lowndes County only asks for a small fee and they will take care of the rest.

“It was like almost 200-dollars each child for their supplies, like binders, gym clothes that kind of thing.” said Nicole Faint.

School supplies are a necessity but some lists are a bit outrageous. When comparing Lowndes County Schools versus Starkville Schools the lists speak for themselves. A few basic items compared to a full shopping cart. Here’s the difference, Lowndes County asks their parents for $10 in addition to 3-4 basic supplies.

“We ask for a 10-dollar fee and we buy stuff for our classroom like our folders, pencils, spiral notebooks, composition notebooks…” said Sara Hollis.

Sara Hollis is a third grade teacher at New Hope Elementary. She has been teaching for 20 years. She sees how school supply lists have changed over the years.

“When I first started the list was just gigantic, I mean parents had to spend over 100-hundred dollars and that included, Kleenex, paper towels, everything.” sai Hollis.

She says the new method is saving parents a lot of money.

“It’s really a good bargain, if you wanna say it like that, it’s really a good bargain because 10-dollars isn’t asking too much because if you go to Wal-Mart, KMART or any of the stores, you’re going to be spending a whole bunch more.” said Hollis.

It’s also a way for teachers to get exactly what they need for their classrooms.

“We were allotted x-amount of dollars at the beginning in July and each teacher got the same amount and so we got to choose what we needed for our classroom like I may have needed crayons but another teacher didn’t so it’s flexible, we get to choose what we want.” said Hollis.

Local parents seem to agree,

“It’s a lot easier that you don’t have to fight all thew crowds at Wal-Mart or wherever and it’s right there on the first day of school they have everything.”  said Diane Earwood.