[DeltAlum]

I remember shopping for school supplies when I was in school, and we bought stuff (different every year, naturally) for all three of our kids all the way through K-12.

If they took specialized classes, there were additional items to purchase. All of that, plus athletic fees, parking permits, etc. The older they got, the more it cost.

Liquid soap is a new one, though, I suppose it could be a health/sanitary issue rather than using a common soap bar in restrooms. Those can be pretty gross.

We all pay taxes for our schools and other services, but consider this: How many school mill and tax levies pass in your area? In ours, most did -- but people still wanted more from the school systems. Many of the other systems in our area passed maybe one out of five levies.

It's like any other public entity. How to you expand (or even maintain) services without additional funds?

Heck, there's another thread here on GC about teachers who pay for much of their classroom stuff out of their own pockets. Mrs. DA taught high school for several years -- both public and parochial. It's a tough job.

My late father-in-law and his dad were school board members for years, and nothing frustrated him more than state legislatures who mandated programs for many things, but provided no funds.

It really does put the systems in a very tough position.