California parents are shelling out nearly $175 for a basic bundle of back-to-school supplies this year as the cost of classroom essentials piles on to already strained household budgets.
The average basket of 21 essential school supplies costs $173.45, a 7.7% increase from last year, according to an analysis by Groundwork Collaborative and The Century Foundation cited by Times of San Diego.
Some individual items have risen by more than 20%. Notebooks cost about 23% more than last year, while notebook paper is up 20% and index cards have climbed 22.2%.
Lunch boxes have risen nearly 27%, while dry-erase markers and glue sticks are about 8% more expensive.
Parents are also paying between 5% and 7% more for No. 2 pencils, crayons, colored pencils and binders.
The increases can become especially painful for households buying supplies for multiple children while also contending with high rents, rising utility bills and increasing costs for everyday necessities. They are being driven by a combination of higher manufacturing costs, inflation and spiking prices for imported goods, where many of these items are made.
“Everything goes up but the paycheck,” Mark Davis, a San Diego father of five, told NBC 7.
“I have to pay for gas, rent, bills, and food [for all of us]. It’s a struggle day-to-day, but you gotta get up and make it,” he said.
Davis was among families who sought assistance at a back-to-school event in Encanto Saturday ahead of the San Diego Unified School District’s return to classes Monday.
The event was organized by California state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, who told the outlet: “I know the cuts that are coming as a result of some of the legislation, and it’s important for people to know where they can go if certain things are no longer accessible for them,”
Food costs are another concern for struggling households in San Diego County, where officials estimate more than 93,000 people will lose their CalFresh benefits this year.
The county has funded a Safety Net Bridge program that includes food assistance, with families receiving groceries at a distribution in Chula Vista Saturday.
For father-of-four Jose Miranda, whose family relies on multiple sources of assistance, making ends meet requires both him and his wife to work.
“Just making minimum wage both [me and my wife] gotta work. We find different resources by calling 2-1-1, and sometimes we gotta find activities like this,” Miranda told the outlet.
The county plans additional food distributions and funding to help residents access health care services through the fall.
Many Southern California and major urban districts, including LAUSD and ABC Unified, are scheduled to begin classes Monday, August 12.
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