21 Aug School Supply Closet Faces Funding Shortfall
The expected cost of school supplies for each McPherson Middle School student is about $80.46. While the supply list is basic (pencils, pens and other essentials) it adds an expense beyond enrollment and program fees. For some families, even modest costs are a strain.
From McPherson Chamber of Commerce
The school’s Supply Closet program was born out of the McPherson Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Class of 2020, a group of professionals trained by the Kansas Leadership Center to address community needs.
Through a two-day leadership training by the Kansas Leadership Center, participants learn skills and the ability to open minds to perspectives that surround issues facing our community. This all culminates in a class project aiming to address a need seen in the community. The projects are different every year and many end up becoming staple programs in the McPherson Community.
For 2020, the group wanted to focus on helping children and eventually narrowed down their idea to provide school supplies to the children. After learning more about how the School Supply Train, an organization started by former teacher Shirley Adams in 1994, provides supplies to elementary students, the group opted to have their effort go to support the students at McPherson Middle School.
With a $1,000 chamber grant and additional fundraising, the Supply Closet opened in 2021. Located in the teachers’ break room, the shelves are stocked each fall with pre-sorted supplies for distribution. Teachers and counselors provide the items directly to students, often discreetly, so families can avoid added financial pressure.
“Our objective is to provide McPherson families in financial need, with children entering McPherson Middle School, the majority of school supplies needed for the 2021 school year and beyond,” Mark Brinck said in a McPherson Chamber of Commerce article about the program “Helping to reduce the stress and financial burden parents may experience as they prepare to send their children off to school.”
Today, the closet serves 100 to 150 students annually. Principal Inge Esping said it has been “a breath of relief” for both staff and parents.
More than 40% of McPherson Middle School students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a population that relies heavily on the closet. But the program’s original funds are nearly depleted and the 2025-26 school year could be the program’s last.
The program has been funded entirely by the original Leadership Class effort, and those dollars are expected to run out after the 2025-26 school year.
To keep the shelves stocked, McPherson Middle School partnered with the McPherson County Community Foundation to establish the McPherson Middle School Supply Closet Endowment. The endowed fund would generate annual support for supplies, ensuring long-term stability.
Currently Esping says that the program usually provides between $1,000 and $2,000 in supplies each year. An endowment of $40,000 would generate about $2,000 annually, ensuring the programs sustainability.
From McPherson Middle School
“We’ve seen it used much more in recent years.” Esping said, “We’ve had multiple conversations with families about their needs and it’s a more private way of helping as those conversations happen through teachers and counselors.”
Esping says that she believes that the program has supported families financially and allows students to be more engaged in learning. The days of ‘no pencil no participation’ are over, and Esping says that’s a good thing.
“We know it doesn’t work,” Esping said, “This program helps our students get involved, by giving them the tools to be successful.”
The McPherson Middle School Supply Closet Endowment is now established and is currently accepting donations towards the program’s future.
Want to support the Middle School Supply Train? Click Here!