Every August, parents and students rush to local supermarkets and stores in droves. Not for toys or games but for school supplies. And every year they end up over buying supplies or not buying the correct items because students are not issued a supply list prior to the start of school. Instead, teachers pass out their lists on the first day of class.

In today’s tight economy, the high school should make an effort to have school supply lists available when schedules are picked up.

Every major store puts their school supplies on sale during the month of August. If students don’t know what they need beyond the regular pen and paper, they often miss getting supplies at discounted prices. And worse yet, after school starts, there is often a shortage of supplies and most items are marked back up to full price.

Tax-free weekend also offers parents a chance to get a price break on needed supplies, but it occurred a week before school started, so it’s still a guessing game as to what supplies are needed.

During Meet the Teacher for STEM, students are able to get supply lists from their teachers about a week before school. However, not all students are a part of STEM and this gives an unfair advantage to these students.

A simple solution to the problem would be to require teachers to post a supply list on their KnoMi site. This would give students the opportunity to access their supply lists, and even if they change slightly, students will still have an earlier start to saving money on school supplies.