MONCTON – A New Brunswick school district is testing a new school supply list it hopes will help save parents some money this year.
The Anglophone East School District is putting out a generic list instead of letting each school or classroom have its own. The new list only includes items that relate specifically to academics.
Superintendent Gregg Ingersoll said in the past, lists might have included expensive items that don’t relate to school work.
“There may be things for projects like freezer bags and baby wipes that were used for clean up or the work area but were not necessary for school work,” he said.
Janice Melanson says shopping for school supplies for her two kids can feel downright painful. She said she’s not the only one who’s tired.
“The wallet too,” she said. “It’s very expensive.”
Educators say it should only cost about $30, on average, for elementary school supplies.
Melanson said after spending $50, the finish line still is not in sight for her.
Lisa Martin of Dieppe said she’s not sure her daughter, who’s going into the first grade, will even use half of the items on her list.
“Five bottles of glue? It’s crazy for a year,” she said.
She said she feels as though she is subsidizing other people’s children.
The new, shorter lists mean teachers may have to dig a bit deeper into their own wallets if they want to customize their classrooms.
Annick Arsenault-Carter works for another district and says she already pays out-of-pocket expense.
“It would not be surprising if I would go around $100 or $125, and that is a minimum amount of money,” she said.
Some schools in the Maritimes have already moved to a system where the school district purchases supplies for the students at a discounted rate and charges parents a flat fee — typically around $30 to $40 — for the school year.
Ingersoll said he is considering a similar system for all schools in the Anglophone East School District next year.
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