It's that time of the year. Schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are opening up for the 2023-24 academic year within the next few weeks.
But this year, you can expect to see higher prices for school supplies due to inflation.
Back to School spending is projected to hit a record of $41 billion, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF).
Families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend $890 on school supplies this year. According to the NRF, that's $25 more than last year's record.
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BACK TO SCHOOL
NBC 5 spoke with parents in the area, many of whom are planning to attend at least one back-to-school supply giveaway this summer.
Parents aren’t alone in this. George Rangel is executive vice president of Alliance AFT, which serves Dallas educators.
"We do have a lot of teachers that spend a lot of money, and they don’t see that back," Rangel said.
Even a stipend is not nearly enough to cover the need.
“The teachers are given $250 but that’s not even close to what they spend,” he said. “It is becoming overwhelming on the supplies they have to buy.”
Communities and organization stepping up with supply drives the and giveaways, and standing in the gap for students and teachers. Still, they face a challenge.
“We have teachers that are going and doing gofundme accounts to buy supplies and materials that they need for the students,” said Rangel.
The city of Dallas is hosting two Back to School events to help prepare for the school year.
Students can get supplies like clear backpacks, earbuds, USBs and scientific calculators free of charge at the West Dallas Multipurpose Center on Aug. 5 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
There will also be a Back to School Festival at the MLK Jr. Community Center on Aug. 12 at 9 a.m. in Dallas. Free school supplies like backpacks, notebooks, binders, rulers, pencils and pens will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
