Did you know?

Mayor Tom Leppert of Dallas heads up a back to school fair every year for underprivileged children. The fair provides them with backpacks and school supplies. I, myself, have more than once contributed to a "pack the backpack" charity to help provide school supplies for poor children. But no more!

Did you know that the State of Texas provides a $30 back to school stipend for each child in a family receiving welfare? I realize that with today's prices and extravagant school supply lists, that most likely covers only about half their supplies, but shouldn't the parents of these children be expected to kick in something, too? These people are cleaning up -- I've seen them make the rounds of King's Daughters, Salvation Army, and other charities, but I didn't know they were getting an extra check from the state as well. And I know some teachers spend their own money to keep extra supplies in their classrooms. Then there was the elementary class where the children were told to bring two boxes of Kleenex. When the mother who told me about this sent just one box, the teacher said something. The mother said, "When little Judy runs out, I'll send another box." The teacher then explained that the second box was for children who didn't bring their own. I very much admired this mother for standing her ground and refusing to send another box.

The bottom line is this -- just how much of that $30 in state money per child do you think actually gets spent for the benefit of the child?

"Proposed cuts tough on the poor." The Dallas Morning News; August 25, 2010; p. 4A.