Las Vegas has begun an experiment with a novel way to get school supplies to schools that need them: From June 19 through July 19, any non-safety-related citations for a vehicle violation (e.g., parking tickets) will be payable with school supplies. According to release from the city council, a person can bring in supplies meeting or exceeding the cost of the citation.
Here are some of the supplies that qualify:
- Pencils
- Pens
- Erasers
- Dry erase markers
- Index cards
- Paper towels/Disinfecting wipes
- Card stock
- Copy paper
- Storage bins
- Rulers
- Scissors
- Pencil sharpeners
- Post-it notes
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that donations will be given to the Teacher Exchange, a program handled by the Public Education Foundation. The Nevada-based Public Education Foundation is a nonprofit that provides school supplies, usually focusing on Title I schools that have higher rates of students with free or reduced-cost lunches.
An interesting note here is that the schools that already need subsidies for school lunches are not getting enough money for supplies. Just something to consider about our current public education system. This is not a knock on the Public Education Fund, which is trying to do its part to fix our failings as a society. But in an even slightly better world, the Public Education Fund would not exist. All schools, in affluent areas and in lower-income areas, need school supplies. More affluent areas have more affluent parents, with more resources to provide what should already be covered in municipal budgets.