Even though 16 to 18 states have back-to-school sales tax breaks and retailers are offering big sales for families, the National Education Association still recently estimated that the cost of back-to-school supplies has risen by as much as 42% this year.
While some have gone up as little as 17%, other essential items have risen by over 40% of their previous costs. Families will spend an estimated average of $922 per student on school supplies this fall, 47% more than last year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, putting substantial strain on parents with multiple children. Just sending two children to school can cost as much as $1,844 out of pocket, causing a steep rise in what’s known as the “backpack tax.” That’s far from the “free” moniker often assigned to public education, exposing the truth hidden behind the cost-free label.
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And with better educational options available through school choice programs, families have to wonder why they don’t apprise themselves of private, charter, and magnet schools if they’re going to be on the hook for a double-digit price hike for basic learning tools. Which raises the question: If districts demand that parents better manage their money to afford additional mandatory costs, why doesn’t the state trust those same parents with the financial agency of school choice?
The hidden financial reality of public schooling
Public education is routinely billed as “free.” But any parent holding a receipt this month knows that is pure fiction because these essential supplies have outpaced overall inflation by a factor of 3. For instance, notebooks are up 17%, binders are up 12%, and basic index cards have spiked by more than 42%. This financial squeeze is where the debate over school choice takes on an entirely new, practical urgency.
In voucher and scholarship systems, the dollars follow students, regardless of where they’re educated. Even better, these funds aren’t limited strictly to tuition. While these state-provided funds can certainly be used for tuition, they can also be used to pay for other costs, such as tutoring, textbooks, specialized therapies, and educational software. The same funds can also help parents pay for expensive supplies, such as laptops, tablets, calculators, and other big-ticket items that have become outrageously expensive.
But financial assistance with these expenses isn’t the only benefit that school choice gives families. Students also benefit from better educational opportunities and outcomes available through private, charter, and magnet schools. And that translates into more college and career opportunities.
Reducing the burden of the backpack tax
It’s certainly no secret that public schools do not provide the level of education that private, charter, and magnet schools offer. Yet, opponents of school choice insist that parents simply can’t be trusted to make sound financial decisions with state-provided funds. Ironically, those against such voucher programs demand that parents be hyperefficient procurement officers, navigating volatile retail markets to buy exactly the right brand of glue sticks and pencils.
If parents are trusted to bargain-hunt and stay within their budgets while still providing everything their children need for school, we can most certainly trust families to decide where those expensive school supplies are ultimately used.
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It’s time to stop pretending that our public school system is “free” and locking families into a one-size-fits-all model that drains their wallets before the first bell even rings.
By expanding school choice vouchers, we can effectively reduce or eliminate the regressive backpack tax and finally put dollars to use where they matter most — in students’ education and in the parents who work so very hard to support and supply their children.
Owen E. Richason IV is the author of S4: Students, Schools, Social Media, & Success and the College Merit Scholarship Appeal Guide. Owen is also a writer for the St. Pete-Clearwater Sun and has contributed to the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Gate, AOL, BAM magazine, Boss magazine, and Tampa Bay Business Insider.
