Save 8 Million Dollars & Go Green

Would you like to save green and go green at the same time during this back to school supply buying jamboree?

If so, perhaps the whole United States could put in place the same type of tax free weekend as Memphis, Tennessee did starting on August 6, 2010!

In recent years it has become a part of the back to school ritual in many areas to register your child at the school they will be entering and pick up your back to school supply list at the same time. This list can be quite expensive as most parents already know.

Just for the heck of it meander through this sample school supply list for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, courtesy of education.com:

2 Full boxes of #2 pencils
Small pencil case or small supply case
Pens
2 larger pink erasers
Scissors
Colored pencils
Highlighter pens
Glue Stick
Large folders in multiple colors
Spiral notebooks
1 small spiral notebook for writing down assignments
One pack of construction paper
2 reams of white paper
A Ruler with centimeters and inches
Index cards
Pack of post-it notes
Calculator

As you can well imagine this is just the icing on the cake and can become a burden for financially strapped parents. So, Memphis, Tennessee put in place a tax free weekend where parents can buy back to school supplies at this time tax free for one full weekend!

Last year, those parents who took advantage of this wonderful opportunity saved 8 million dollars on school supplies.

Eight million dollars!

It would seem that in an economy that is still not recovering we could put more of these types of relief packages in place to help parents help their kids become well-educated. Recycling school supplies is a tough deal, but there are some that can be used year to year, such as rulers and calculators.

Another suggestion is a community co-op that would bring together parents that are aware of this tremendous cost, and buy in bulk, therefore bringing costs down.

In fact, the best idea I have heard concerning this issue was from Jill Montgomery, a resident of Horn Lake, Mississippi. This idea entailed having the purchasing agents of large community school districts buy all of these products in bulk and then distribute them at a nominal fee to parents at the beginning of the school year.

How are we going green by saving all this green? First of all, utilizing a co-op method we would not have as many parents driving all over town to different stores to buy these supplies. It would be a one-stop shop. If the school districts did it, the trip would be even shorter, thus saving an enormous amount of fuel.

But, these are ideas that have not yet been road tested. Personally, I am all in favor of the Memphis, TN method going national

Eight million dollars is Eight million dollars-no matter how you slice it!