01 August 2011

What a summer it has been. The weather has been extreme this year―record rain, record heat, record flooding and record hot air in Washington, with no end in sight.

We've been lucky this year in Northern California with the heat so far (though it's maybe not so good for the farmers) and it certainly has made for an enjoyable summer.

But it's August and time to start thinking about going back to school. When I was a kid getting ready to go back to school I got a couple of new pencils, maybe a new binder, and we covered our books with paper bags. Things have certainly changed.

For the 2011/2012 school year, on average, elementary school supply costs are $530, middle school expenses are $681, and high schoolers will now have to shell out an average of $1,091 to pay for items like graphing calculators and AP exam preparation books. Ouch. And the latest talking heads report that it is the worst back-to-school shopping season in over 10 years. Sales are down 7.7%.

Not all the costs are supply related. Some of the costs come not only from school supplies but from cash-strapped schools. Many have instituted pay-to-play fees, charging students for sports, band and drama.

I saw one glimmer of cost savings as I read through quite a bit of back-to-school information. There is a new shoe on the market called the inch worm. The shoe can expand three half sizes. Of course, I didn't think they were very attractive, so good luck getting your child to wear them.

Happy back-to-school night! Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner.