P-J file photo

The National Retail Foundation estimates families will spend $27.5 billion on K-12 school supplies this year.

Of that money spent, 73 percent is exclusively school supplies like paper and pencils, while 65 percent is spent on clothing, 54 percent on shoes, 19 percent on electronics and 1 percent on other items.

This school year, the retail foundation estimates that families will spend $684.79 per student sending them back to class.

At Jamestown Public Schools, Tina Sandstrom, director of schools, said the district only requires students to have a backpack. She explained that the school receives numerous donations throughout the year to help supplement what students need for class.

She admitted that students often purchase their own supplies, but noted that the district doesn’t require them to buy their own supplies.

Sandstrom said teachers often provide students with a list of supplies that will be used in the class, but emphasized those lists are suggestions and not requirements. She was confident that the district would be able to provide all students supplies for the school year.

“If students don’t bring those items or choose not to, we have those items and provide those items to them,” she said.

Pencils, notebooks, additional paper and class-related electronics are all readily available for Jamestown students, Sandstrom said.

Sandstrom said the district purchased supplies on top of the many donations it receives from the community.

“We’re really lucky to have a really generous community,” she said.