Back-to-school has its ups and downs : List of school supplies, definitely on the down side

Chomedey resident Nicole Cooke, 50, who began taking a more active role in her 13-year-old son’s education, he starts Grade 8 at Laval Junior High School, and that of all students last year, agrees wholeheartedly.

She sits on the parent’s committee, fills in when needed as backup representative on the governing board, and became a member of the Parent Participation Organization (PPO).

“The list was sent to me in the mail with his report card,” said Cooke. New to Laval from Montreal’s West Island, she found some items asked for the schools there “were never used.”

“For example, the school requested several colours of highlighters. He only ever used yellow. It seems I was always being asked to buy more pencils, even though I had bought six packages at the beginning of the year, either he was giving them away or eating them.”

Cooke also found it surprising to learn that on the first day of school, all the purchases sent with the children were gathered up by the teacher and stored in a basket. When students needed specific items such as Duo-Tangs for an assignment, the stock was distributed.

“But all the items were not of the same quality,” said Cooke. “I tried not to buy dollar store items, but others did. One parent told me she had put her child’s name on his or her items, only to find the labels had been “ripped off” and someone else’s name put on it.

“The incident led to quite an uproar at the school,” she said.

Another point of aggravation was over the need to purchase 6” binders. “On top of not being used, and I had purchased seven, based on his seven courses, they didn’t fit in his school bag,”

“I think the teachers should ask for the basics, pencils and pens, at the start of the school year, but then later on, if something is needed, to send parents a notice that a particular item will be needed in say two weeks. That way, we aren’t buying too many unnecessary supplies,” she said.

The Laval Junior High School includes a number of brand name items – Kleenex, DUDLEY Lock, Duo-Tangs, Hilroy, Texas Instruments T130XA calculator, Bescherelle – among the list of supplies.

“It will cost nearly $200 to get everything they ask for,” Cooke said. “And that’s not including the registration fee of $475, he’s in the soccer concentration, or it would only be $200. I’ll also need to buy extra soccer t-shirts and shorts, the fee includes only one. ”

Cooke found the list somewhat ambiguous. “It said after each item, let’s use the example, ‘box of markers – several.’ Suggesting ‘several’ tells me absolutely nothing. I could buy too many, I don’t have his schedule yet, and that’s being wasteful.”

“Basically, we try to meet the needs of the schools,” said Hallman.

Hallman noted that many decisions are decentralized to each school, and developing, approving and distributing the list of supplies parents are asked to purchase is in the hands of the school’s teachers and the principal.

“As a courtesy, often the lists are approved at the governing board level, but they are, for the most part, developed by the teaching team,” she said.

However, each school does have a portion of its operating budget that can be used to purchase supplies for a school. “They have some discretion in their budget to make purchases. The need for specific supplies corresponds to the needs of each community.”

“Our school fee policy, clearly spelled out on the board’s website, notes we do not pay for any consumables used by the children in our schools,” added Hallman.

She admitted the financial demands placed on families, particularly “single parent families and those with three or four children” can be difficult.

“It’s always a sensitive issue. Not all families have the resources, but this is where I know each school, staff and parents, help the situation by using their discretionary budget or doing fundraising.”