Huntley Community School District 158 issued the following announcement on July 24.
Families purchasing school supplies for the upcoming 2018-19 school year hopefully have noticed a reduction in the cost for these supplies compared to previous years. As a result of a concerted effort by Huntley 158 schools, the average cost of school supplies for students in kindergarten through 8th grade has gone down between 23% and 58% over last year.
“We challenged our principals to get together, see how they could put our families first, and develop uniform supply lists for each grade level that would really trim down to what is needed for learning,” said Chief Financial Officer Mark Altmayer. “We continue to be the 2nd-lowest spending unit district in the Chicago area, and we are always looking for ways to reduce the financial burdens on our families and taxpayers.”
The District also worked with schools to identify opportunities for cost efficiencies in bulk ordering some common supplies and providing those for our families.
Items now being supplied by schools include glue sticks, highlighters, thin markers, rulers, dry-erase markers, facial tissue, plastic storage bags, anti-bacterial wipes, post-it notes, and 3-ring binders.
The prices below represent last year’s costs vs. this year’s costs and are based on school supply packs offered through Educational Products Inc., which are offered for sale through PTA and PTO groups each summer. Costs will vary for families choosing to purchase supplies individually.
- K: $53 to $22 (58%)
- 1st: $62 to $27 (56%)
- 2nd: $51 to $32 (37%)
- 3rd: $50 to $22 (56%)
- 4th: $44 to $22 (50%)
- 5th: $51 to $22 (57%)
- 6th: $41 to $28 (32%)
- 7th: $46 to $29 (37%)
- 8th: $39 to $30 (23%)
Source: Huntley Community School District 158