By ERIN COVEY
KIRO Radio

The Sumner School District has came up with an idea to pass discounts along to parents.

The Principal of McAlder Elementary in Sumner has bags of school supplies locked in a small room: the brainchild of thrifty school leaders who wanted to spare parents expensive back to school costs.

"The idea was to purchase all those supplies in bulk and then figure out a price because we knew that the price was probably going to be lower than if they went out and bought it on their own," said principal Susie Black.

With buying power on their side, Black says they went to a number of retailers and took advantage of deep discounts.

"This covers what we believe is important to start the school year out. I think as the years have gone by, we've added a few things to that list every year. Our superintendent wanted us to look and see what was the most important, especially since these are difficult times for our families," said Black.

The initiative meant asking teachers to eliminate unnecessary items. The PTA took care of everything else.

"We have markers, crayons, pencils, glue sticks and water colors; the majority of the things we normally ask," said Black.

The only thing not included is a backpack. Instead of paying $100 for school supplies, parents pay $10 to the PTA.

When word of the program spread some people donated extra money to make sure the children in need got their back to school basics. A retailer also stepped up to donate hundreds of pencils.