Video: School Supply Costs Add Up

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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) — The first day of school is only a few weeks away and back to school shopping is in full swing.

The average elementary school student needs about $100 worth of supplies. Middle school students will only need about $50.

“Just strictly go by the school list they send out. Most of them are adamant about needing those things on that list. Everything else will kind of fall into place and they’ll send you a back up list later on if they need more but stick to your list if you can,” said Melanie Corbell, store manager at Fred’s in Columbus.

Some county and private schools provide pre-packaged boxes that include all the supplies a student will need for the year. Most of these boxes come at a $75 fee.

“All the students have the same supplies. They have everything that they need and they are ready to go. There’s no fighting or competition as to ‘ Did you have this, I have this’ and that sort of thing. Everyone is on an equal playing field,” said Greg Carlyle, headmaster at Heritage Academy.

Heritage Academy also incorporates technology into its middle and high school classes, but that cost is included in a student’s tuition.

“It’s our one-to-one program. All of our students are issued those in grades 9-12- Apple laptops. And were just really excited about that and the opportunities to infuse technology into every aspect of our curriculum,” Carlyle said.

If your child’s high school requires a graphing calculator, you’re looking at about $100 added to your school needs list.