Of course, it's an outlier. This is a weird and unusual story.

Buried in the story was something far more useful:

Zepp objected this year when her daughter's social studies teacher at Knightdale High School had students bring to school tissues and hand sanitizer. The supplies counted for 25 percent of a "supply check" grade. "It's awful," Zepp said. "It's indicative of the fact that our schools don't have enough money. They can't get tissues or hand sanitizer or whatever without bribery. And that's pretty sad."

By the way, local people: teachers often buy supplies out of their own pockets or beg parents to help buy them.

My own wife does this on a regular basis. Why? because she wants the kids to have every possible opportunity to succeed. After 12 years of teaching, she makes a pretty modest salary. That so-called PERS pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Not looking so good. The old, original PERS for teachers was pretty good, but it's long gone. Newer teachers get an even worse PERS arrangement. I'm constantly amazed when people claimi that teachers get some sort of pot of gold when they retire. My wife estimates she's spend thousands of her own dollars over the years keeping basic supplies on hand--and by basic, I mean enough paper, pencils, toilet paper, hand towels, and other things.

Where are the parents in providing supplies to their kids?

Everywhere!!! Robert
Just pick a school, any school...but not everyone can afford to get those supplies for their kids. Lots of working poor and the children of the homeless have few resources to get the basics like paper and pencils.
Not much as changed. I remember my 5th grade teacher buying supplies for the kids who had nothing and that was 50 years ago. She was a great lady and a wondeful teacher. I can still name all the states and capitals!

Excluding the homeless, I'd like to know how many pairs of shoes those supposed working poor parents have and if the parents have cell phones and all the other toys.. I came from a poor family growing up.. we got 2 new pairs of pants, 2 new shirts from Sears and a new pair of shoes if we needed them every August just before the school year started.. Our furniture was old and torn and so were our cars, but we ate well and went to the dentist regularly... my parents had priorities, their kids...

My parents worked the rest of the year paying off those purchases only to repeat it again the following August... and in between we got hand me downs from family members...

Ive never made alot of money, but I knew how to budget because my parents taught me that a new tube of toothpaste didnt just appear when the old one was used up..and my mother would work with us to ensure we new our math tables and our abc's..

When I think of poor, I think of empty cupboards, shoes with no shoelaces, torn clothes, broken furniture and haircuts in the back yard from my dad...

When I see what passes for poor these days, I think what my parents told me when I didnt want to eat my vegetables.. the somebody in another place that would gladly trade places with me...

We're spoiled here in America... and so are the managers of our city, state and federal budgets... thanks for bringing out my fiscal conservative side.. I was afraid some people might think I was a bleeding heart ... and just to show I have a sense of community, when one of my neighbors was unable to keep up his yard, I and another person cleaned it up for them so the city wouldnt fine them...and I shared my vegetables from my garden...

My neighbors are very involved with the Catholic Church and doing charitable things.. they used to deliver meals on wheels to supposed poor people, but gave it up when they saw many of those recipients living better than they were...

Speaking of school give aways, why is there a big drive to help the Merrysville School fire victims? (The childern)Doesn't the district have fire insurance? Doesn't that cover losses in a fire? Won't they cover the things lost? Do I smell a windfall for the district? Just asking.

I confess the thought of fire insurance crossed my mind as well...
But if there were no sprinklers maybe there was no insurance either.
I guess Fireman Randy did not get his brother the contract for that sprinkler system? (see WW this week for details)
And to Robert: I see your point, and I think we may agree on the definition of "poor". Maybe the parents who are neglectful are the people with whom we are frustrated. It is sad that those kids suffer too.

Doesn't the district have fire insurance? Doesn't that cover losses in a fire?

They need stuff *now*, today, to run a school. Much of that stuff (supplies, etc.) won't be covered under fire insurance.

Help them out, folks.