On Top of All the Back-to-School Jitters

Baby J on the back-to-school day.

School started last month in my district, and I felt all the feels as my social media filled with first-day photos (yes, I posted one too). It’s a momentous time of year for school-age children and their caregivers, ripe with both excitement and anxiety.

This year, though, we have even more anxiety than excitement. At back-to-school night, the PTA at Baby J’s elementary school asked for a $350 donation per student to sustain the school’s many programs. They explained that because the school district doesn’t fund for specialty teachers (such as science teachers and PE coaches), educational software programs, or field trip transportation, the PTA has to step in. The PTA also covers the school library and classroom supplies, among other things.

Let me be clear: our PTA has always asked for donations; this is nothing new. And I do believe in supporting schools, financially or otherwise. But the ask has jumped a lot. When my first child started school in 2018, it was $200 per student—and was “totally optional.” Adjusted for inflation, $200 in 2018 is about $257.17 today. But the ask is now $350, paried with the message, “we need you more than ever.”

As much as I am happy to support my local school, the outsized role of parent contributions in elementary school finance is a problem. Our nation’s neediest students – those facing the greatest risk for academic failure and with the greatest need for support – are disproportionately attending schools that serve large numbers of students from low-income families. The parents are often unable to make such donations when schools are inadequately funded, which means the students can lack access to many of the academic and enrichment supports that their peers in more affluent schools or districts receive.

A contributing factor to the funding gap is the declining federal and state support. Reports from late 2024 and mid-2025 confirm that because the Trump administration has aggressively withheld formula dollars and terminated grant programs (often without congressional approval), federal funding as a share of district budgets has reduced. This affects high-need schools the most, threatening to exacerbate existing inequities.

Baby J came home yesterday with a stadium cup and a bumper sticker —gifts from the PTA to parents who donated more. That was nice, but I don’t want a stadium cup or a sticker. I want fully-funded schools. I want every child in this country to have the resources they deserve.

**This post was originally published on MomsRising.org. This is a concise version.