Parents are facing higher prices for back-to-school essentials this year. Kelly Grassle, a Nipomo resident, said, “This year was more of like, no, you don’t need that. We only need this bare minimum.
Obviously trying to shop as cheap as possible.”
Robert Jimenez, an Arroyo Grande resident, was shocked by the cost of a backpack. “The backpack was pretty expensive. It was kind of shocking,” he said.
“$75 for a backpack. Usually we’re used to about $35 or $40, so yeah, there was a price increase.”
Some parents are choosing to reuse last year’s supplies to save money. “My son didn’t get a new backpack this year,” Grassle said.
Back-to-school savings strategies
“He only just had kept his backpack that he had from the year before.”
The National Retail Federation reports that the average household will spend about $875 on school essentials this year. This is much higher than five years ago when the average was $697.
Grassle added, “Once we bought all that stuff, it was just kind of checking it out of our grocery budget.”
In California, public schools are required to provide all supplies, materials, and equipment to students at no cost, according to the 2024 California Education Code. Naomi Grewal, an Orinda resident, said, “I remember growing up in the 90s and it was a huge deal. You would go to your local Staples and buy all kinds of supplies.
And now, we don’t really have to worry about that in our school district, which is wonderful.”
Charter school parents like Marcia Downing also receive state government funding to help cover supplies. Each student gets a certain amount, which pays for expenses like teacher salaries and school supplies. “It’ll be a challenge not to lose pens, and I’m planning on keeping a little money left over just in case we do lose all of our pens or get halfway through the school year and need some more printer paper,” Downing explained.
The National Retail Federation report shows that more than half of the parents who have not yet bought supplies are waiting for the best deals.
