Gallup-McKinley parents no longer must buy school supplies
Apple on top of school books.
WINDOW ROCK
Parents of students at Gallup-McKinley County Schools will no longer have to buy school supplies.
A May 16 statement from the school district said GMCS will no longer request parents to purchase school supplies beginning next school year. The statement said teachers and schools will no longer require lab, art or vocational fees for classroom participation.
“The practice of putting the cost of necessary general supplies on the backs of our parents and guardians has traditionally been a part of the GMCS system, and we are eager to eliminate that burden,” the statement said. “With the district’s purchasing power, GMCS will be able to acquire these supplies using operational funds at a significant cost reduction.”
According to GMCS school board Secretary Priscilla Manuelito, the issue of parents paying for school supplies had come before the Indian Education Committee. She said Johnson O’Malley Program funds could only cover school supplies for students who provided a Certificate of Indian Blood. Even then, she said, the district kept adding to the lists of supplies requested of parents or guardians.
“It started to get to where it was requests for things like hand sanitizer and paper towels,” she said. “The list just grew and grew.”
She said funding for school supplies was approved at the school board budget session in April.
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Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow