To the editor:

I read with interest Rich Minder’s letter to the editor concerning the frustrating and time-consuming process of buying school supplies.

How different it was growing up in northern Minnesota. Every six weeks, each student was given a new pencil and all paper and notebooks needed. In Lawrence, 5,000 parents drive all over town, searching shelves in Wal-Mart and Target, often vainly, for the correct supplies.

What would be the cost of ordering uniform (not designer) supplies from the manufacturers (perhaps equal to the cost of a series of hearings on intelligent design vs. evolution) and storing them in a central warehouse (maybe a closed neighborhood school)? What would be the cost of hiring a local company to distribute them (perhaps equal to the cost of sending a school board representative to a national meeting or two)? What is the cost for thousands of people in time, traffic congestion, pollution and profits diverted to international vendors?

It is not necessarily the fear of higher taxes that prevents the free distribution of school supplies to our students. But even if extra tax dollars were needed, we must face up to those who complain that they are subsidizing other people’s children. Everyone benefits from a free, quality education. Who among us has not attended some school supported by taxpayers? Why can’t states access some of the windfall tax breaks given to our wealthiest corporations and individuals to where they would be more beneficial?

As a bumper sticker points out, “If you think education is expensive, consider the cost of ignorance.”

Jim Juola,

Lawrence