AJC.com > Blogs > Get Schooled > Archives > 2007 > August > 06 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USBack-To-School Frenzy: Can You Feel It?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ll admit it: I did a little tax-free shopping this weekend. No, I didn’t have any school supplies to purchase. I just couldn’t resist saving a few bucks on some new shoes for fall.
While I was waiting to try on a cute suede pair at Nordstrom, I overheard a sales clerk saying the store wasn’t nearly as busy as he thought it would be, given the annual sales tax holiday.
Honestly, I was grateful for the lack of crowds. But I did start to wonder: Where was the back-to-school frenzy?
Surely teachers were out there somewhere buying up packs of pencils, construction paper and glue with the governor’s annual $100 gift card. Certainly, moms and dads were toting tots to Wal-Mart and Target to purchase new backpacks and underwear.
Weren’t they?
For weeks, I’ve been bombarded with e-mails from PR people pitching the latest and greatest back-to-school products. And TV commercials pushing Staples as the destination for school shopping can hardly be avoided.
Yet, even though school starts today in Cherokee, Coweta and Henry counties (and later this week in Clayton and Douglas counties, as well as Marietta and Buford), I still haven’t felt that annual back-to-school feeling — you know, the giddiness you get at seeing all the clean notebooks.
I don’t know, maybe the oppressive heat and humidity is getting to me. Does anyone else out there feel like it’s just not time for school?
Comments
By Lisa B.
August 6, 2007 11:55 AM | Link to this
It’s not that I don’t like saving money, but to avoid the rush, I did most of my back-to-school clothes shopping online. I made school supply purchases a few weeks ago, and asked one proprietor to save a bag of stuff I’d picked out until I could run by last week with the gift card to pay for it. Other than that $100 worth of stuff, everything else was purchased online. Many places offer free shipping with a minimum purchase.
By Janine
August 6, 2007 12:05 PM | Link to this
Target was mobbed with kids and moms and dads on Saturday and Sunday! If one wasn’t feeling the “Back to School” fever already, trying to navigate the aisles there would have been very convincing!
By Amy
August 6, 2007 12:31 PM | Link to this
Don’t think the mobs would be saving much at Nordstrom’s.
By Jeff
August 6, 2007 12:34 PM | Link to this
T has been ramping up for a couple of weeks now, and when I went to see her room Friday night the band was in the halls practicing. When I went to the convenience store to grab some snacks Sat morning, they were out on the practice field in formation (this was around 8a).
Add to that the earthy smell that the fields on the way to work this morning were starting to put off that earthy “fall” type smell….
yeah, its pretty convincing to me!
Fall == Start of School == Football…
Football at T’s school starts on the 31st!
By Fulton County Mom
August 6, 2007 12:47 PM | Link to this
I bought the mass majority of school supplies through out the summer…so what if I paid sales tax..it is not that big a savings! I say majority because I still balk at having to buy handsoap and construction paper…what exactly does the school pay for? I mean washing your hands is a given—janitorial supplies should include soap…papertowels are the same.
Anyway, I avoided the crazy people at the stores, bought early and will decide later if I buy the school soap.
By Fulton County Mom
August 6, 2007 12:48 PM | Link to this
Oh, no it does not feel like school time. School should not start before the day after Labor Day. And should end in June.
By JJ
August 6, 2007 12:49 PM | Link to this
We went out yesterday to buy school supplies, not because of the tax free holiday, but because Walgreens opened a new store in Sugar Hill, and they had fabulous “Grand Opening” prices and coupons came in the mail…..
Done, done, & Done!!!
By decaturparent
August 6, 2007 1:53 PM | Link to this
Kudos to the PTA at my kids’ school. They have a connection with a parent who owns an office supply company. The parent provided school supplies at cost to the PTA who bought them in bulk and “passed the savings” on to the parents.
All I need to do is cut a check for $12 to the PTA to reimburse them and I’m done (well, except for shoes, clothes, backpack, etc.).
Now, as for those who can’t or won’t pay the $12… I’m not sure how they are handling that. Maybe the rest of us are paying a couple of dollars extra to cover for them, or maybe the PTA will eat it. I am curious to find out.
By Camille
August 6, 2007 1:54 PM | Link to this
I’m not really sure that Nordstrom would be the proper place (or the mall for that matter) to make a proper assessment on whether or not the public as a whole was taking advantage of the tax-free holiday. I had done the majority of my shopping a few weeks ago to avoid the craziness that this weekend brings. However, I thought that I would go out this past weekend to purchase the few things that I had not gotten. The stores that I went into would not fit the above assessment, as a couple of them were trashed and full of people. I walked out of a couple of them because finding anything was too much of a chore and I don’t like dealing with crowds like that.
With regards to the “giddiness” of back to school time, not sure I’ve ever experienced that. It does seem a bit surreal that “summer” is over already, but such is life.
By Me
August 6, 2007 2:29 PM | Link to this
Since school started in our county(Newton) July 27 we’ve already been through all of the shopping !
By iron maiden
August 6, 2007 2:53 PM | Link to this
I’m always dumbfounded by how many students appear in class with no supplies at the beginning of, and throughout, the school year. Parents, make sure your purchases make it to the classroom, instead of becoming buried treasure in the corner of the locker. I guess that’s a dead giveaway of student disaffection and disengagement. Quiz them on priorities BEFORE they load the book bag.
By iron maiden
August 6, 2007 3:28 PM | Link to this
My retired husband is a bus driver for a school system that started back today. He knows how hot it is from 2 to 5 PM! Crank up those ceiling fans!
By Come On!
August 6, 2007 4:35 PM | Link to this
Crawford Lewis lied to the AJC. He is not piping that stupid convocation at New Birth into all the schools. He’s making teachers who don’t go to New Birth go all the way over to the Bradley Center. Why did he lie? Will the ACJ do a follow-up and answer this question?
By catlady
August 6, 2007 4:49 PM | Link to this
I am wondering if many have noticed what I think I notice: fewer parents in my area are hitting (the only) Walmart. One told me that with the governor giving the teachers $100, he sure expected the teachers to provide the pencils and paper now! Truly, the last 2 years I have seen much less school supply shopping. ‘Course, maybe I am there at the wrong time!
By luvs2teach
August 6, 2007 5:03 PM | Link to this
I spent my $100 early in the week at Schoolbox (which had a 15% discount), before the tax free holiday as what I was getting wasn’t going to be tax-free anyway. I did not buy pencil and paper for the kids - I bought a bunch of new science stuff because my curriculum changed from earth science to physical science.
I went to Office Depot on Thursday and bought stuff for my students and family - it was fairly busy.
Wal-mart was insane (and I wasn’t even buying - I was returning) and Kohl’s was busy, but the lines moved quickly.
One thing I noticed was that there seemed to be fewer sales - maybe stores figured the tax-free weekend would be enough of a draw. In the past, I’ve found that’s where the real savings have been - sure, I don’t pay tax, but everything is “buy one, get one” - that type of thing.
By catlady
August 6, 2007 5:08 PM | Link to this
Want to share a chuckle with this blog: This morning I was looking at the ajc.com and I saw a headline that said something like “How to get the kids ready for going back to school” and the next headline was “Gwinnett Sherriff stands by use of Tasers”. Talk about a funny juxtaposition! I have smiled about it all day.
By Lisa B.
August 6, 2007 5:55 PM | Link to this
I’m not sure I’ve seen more students arrive without school supplies than in years before the gift cards. I’ve always had quite a few children who come to school empty-handed. However, since implementation of Sonny’s gift cards, our PTO cut out the $100 they used to give teachers to help out on school supplies.
Maybe the increase in minimum wage will help parents better provide for their children :-)
By Candy
August 7, 2007 10:11 AM | Link to this
I hate crowds. I can’t shop the way I would like to with everyone in the same spot at the same time. Therefore, I shop earlier in the summer. AS a matter of fact, I pick up things doing the whole summer instead of waiting until the last minute to buy and may not be able to get what I need.
By Dewaine
August 7, 2007 12:45 PM | Link to this
Why even bother with school? Look at the grades of all the students in public school (without the bell curve). Would you hire any of the students? There needs to be an alternative to school since most of the students in public school are failing. Students need someone to teach them how to be an adult. Most of the high school studies does not apply to the real world.
By Bailey
August 7, 2007 4:01 PM | Link to this
You can save alot of time and money by shopping online. Dealtaker.com has many coupons to stores like Old Navy, Gap, Kohl’s, American Eagle, Pac Sun. Saves time and money!
By Math Fun
August 14, 2007 10:48 AM | Link to this
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