From vaping, the cost of school supplies to cellphone policies, the WTOP team is studying up on hot-button topics in education across the D.C. region. Follow on air and online in our series “WTOP Goes Back to School” this August and September.
Crayons, pencils, notebooks — even headphones. Betty Hinojosa supports her four children on a single salary. And as they gear up for a new year in Fairfax County Public Schools, Hinojosa, like many parents, is facing down sticker shock as she tries to stock up on their back-to-school supplies.
“About three years ago, when I bought supplies directly from the school, it cost around $48 to $50,” Hinojosa said through a translator. “But this year, it now costs around $95 just for the basics. … The truth is, the cost for school supplies has doubled in the last three years.”
The list of supplies needed for each student is long. Her three elementary schoolers may need items such as rulers and protractors, on top of the many essentials.
For her one high schooler, required supplies such as calculators can cost even more.
Back-to-school shopping this summer has been almost as costly as ever. According to the National Retail Federation, the average household is expected to spend approximately $875 during back-to-school shopping. That’s just $15 shy of last year’s record high since the group began the survey in 2007.
On a tight budget, Hinojosa must be resourceful when it comes to getting all her children what they need. She said she budgets $100 per child, just enough to cover the list of essential, less expensive items schools require. That doesn’t cover big-ticket items, such as clothing and backpacks.
“It’s really stressful. Now that my kids are going back to school after summer vacation, I’m really stressed,” Hinojosa said.
‘Definitely an increase’ in parents needing help
So for those more expensive things on the list, like many other parents, Hinojosa said she needs help.
That’s where FACETS comes in. Fairfax Area Christian Emergency Transition Services (FACETS) is a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to people in Fairfax County, Virginia, with the goal of breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty. That includes an annual school supply drive.
Organizers with the drive say they’ve seen a significant increase in requests for assistance in recent years.
“Prior to 2023, it would be about 500 to 600 requests. Last year, we provided 700 requests for backpacks complete with stuffed school supplies and another 200 requests with reusable grocery bags filled with supplies,” Katie Davenport, chief of staff at FACETS, said.
“This year, as we started ramping up, we had three different schools reach out to us to help them get prepared for their communities coming to them for requests for backpacks and school supplies. So, it’s definitely an increase and I’m sure the inflation has a lot to do with it,” Davenport added.
Hinojosa said the number of families seeking help in her community has gone way up, too.
“Last year, we had about 75 families enrolled in the program,” she said. “This year, we have about 140 families enrolled.”
She said that’s because of high inflation.
“Compared to two or three years ago, it’s a huge increase,” Hinojosa said. “Others might say otherwise, but for me as a mother of four kids, it’s too much.”
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Higher prices ‘across the board’
And while the FACETS drive can help with backpacks and other supplies, all these families, Hinojosa included, still have to worry about clothing, food and rent, and the cost of each has also gone up with inflation.
The latest Bankrate survey on credit card debt is yet another indication of the increasing economic burden on families. It found that half of credit card holders carry debt from month to month, which is up 6% from January and the highest since March 2020. Bankrate also found six out of every 10 cardholders with debt have had it for at least a year, up 3% from three years ago.
“All of this speaks to that cumulative toll of higher prices across the board, higher interest rates. In some respects, back-to-school just kind of adds insult to injury because it’s like one more thing for these families to afford,” Bankrate Senior Industry Analyst Ted Rossman said.
Ways to save
Rossman said, when back-to-school shopping, there are a few other ways for families to save.
First, he said to take stock of what you already have. Maybe there are supplies left over from last year or you can source some items from friends or family. He also suggested checking groups on social media or online that are passing along gently used items for a very low price, or even for free.
State sales tax holidays also offer savings for families during back-to-school shopping season.
Hinojosa said during Virginia’s sales tax holiday, during the first weekend in August, she was able to save on school supplies for each of her children. Maryland’s sales tax holiday runs from now until Saturday.
With inflation cooling off, Rossman said prices should remain more stable in the months ahead and parents should avoid sticker shock when it comes to gearing up for next school year.
“Slight increases is really what the Fed is aiming for, and they’re pretty much there at this point,” he said. “Overall, definitely the worst is over with respect to inflation. So, we think that prices will remain relatively static.”
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