Will it never end? The back-to-school supply list

April More of Coon Rapids has spent more than $100 on school supplies for the first- and fourth-graders in her family. But it isn't just the expense that bothers her. It's also the specificity. When she bought her fourth-grader Rose Art brand markers last year instead of Crayola, the offending markers were sent home.

This year, parents and students are expected to scale back their back-to-school spending by about 5 percent, said Britt Beemer of America's Research Group. But it's difficult to cut back when parents see that their child's classroom shopping list contains 25 items, some specifying certain brand names.

Parents who remember (accurately or not) bringing no more than a pen, pencil and spiral notebook to elementary school are shocked to find Dixie cups, Fiskars scissors, Sharpie pens, facial tissues, antibacterial wipes, dry-erase markers, 3-by-3-inch Post-it Notes and a pencil sharpener (with receptacle) as must-haves.

Several local principals agree that the lists can go on a bit. Mark Hansen, principal at Mississippi Elementary in Coon Rapids, said that schools must be sensitive to parents' and taxpayers' concerns. Each kindergartner might be furnished with a box of crayons, he said, but not the entire elementary school.

"It's just not in the supply budget to have the school district buy a packet of markers for each student," Hansen said.

Parents who are financially unable to afford the entire list of supplies are encouraged to call the school, said Sand Creek Elementary's principal, Paul Anderson. "We want them to communicate their needs. We can usually help them out," he said. Some families buy double the supplies and donate the extras to families that can't afford them, he said.

Schools might also have a formal program for donations, but Hansen and Anderson handle them as needed. Hansen said that people who live near his school drop off supplies there. Some parent-teacher organizations are starting to offer a "school toolbox" with a pre-assembled group of requested supplies, for an extra fee, said Anderson, whose school is also in Coon Rapids.

Indeed, Lori Hansen saves big bucks by starting after July 4th and watching the sale fliers at Target, Office Max or Office Depot. She saves by paying only 20 cents apiece for pocket folders that regularly cost 70 cents. As a teacher's assistant, she understands why teachers specify brand names. The off-brands just don't last. She avoids any scissors except Fiskars. Don't get her started on Rose Art crayons.

She completes her shopping before school starts or shortly thereafter. "Buy items in the middle of the school year and you'll pay a lot more," she said.

Why is that on the list?

Some parents, like Sharon Carlson of Andover, get upset when items on the lists don't get used. She's spent time choosing four specific colored notebooks when only one got used, not to mention the water bottle or computer headphones.

Anderson thinks part of the problem is that parents don't know why their children need the items. Post-it notes, for example, are helpful when teaching reading. "We have children put a Post-it near parts of a story that they didn't understand or want to come back to," said Anderson.

What about an item like facial tissue? Kleenex, not to mention hand sanitizer, is one of those items needed for the kids' comfort. "We go through them like crazy in the winter," said Anderson.

If there is any good news as parents head from store to store to complete the lists, prices on back-to-school items have not gone the way of food and gas. Beemer said that backpacks have risen slightly in price, but most school items seem inflation-proof.

At least for now.