LONGVIEW, Texas — Parents and students are prepping for another semester of learning through nearly record high inflation levels and they’re managing to pull it off.
Jamie McFaul is a mom cautiously bracing for a new school year with not so new inflation.
Costs for clothing, shoes, and supplies are way up.
“I would say several hundred dollars once you add up everything for three kids that they need,” McFaul said.
McFaul picked up more work over the summer to buy what her kids need but said not everyone has that option. On top of being a mom, she’s a teacher too.
"You'll get kids mid-year, and they'll come in with absolutely nothing," McFaul said. "So your teacher heart's not going to let those kids go without.”
Longview ISD has a four-pronged approach to make the fall semester easier on parents.
"We have tried to facilitate many opportunities for our families and prepare ahead, so that they can have a lot of that burden removed from them," said Francisco Rojas, district public information officer.
LISD will supply free breakfast and lunch for all students next school year.
Each school in the district will also provide school supplies, and teacher minimum wage will be $15 rather than $12. Bus routes will not change, despite high gas prices.
“As a matter of fact, we're looking into expanding our bus routes and finding ways that we can serve them a lot better," Rojas said.
McFaul said as the cost of living climbs, her pay isn't.
"As a parent, you don't want your child to go without or less than what they want," McFaul said. "It just makes it harder and harder with the rate of inflation going up to keep up to those standards.”
Back to school bashes are already in the books for the rest of the summer:
