It's really much more than you'd think at first glance.

And the cool (smart) thing about it is that it's NOT coming from extra taxes, it's coming straight from school budget, which has not been increased.

Which means that school related (and funded) trips need to be cut back. But that is something I can understand. You NEED school equipment, while you don't _need_ to go on a trip.

Ofcourse you should offer the opportunity, but I can see that much more as something parents need to pay (or not) for, rather than school budget. It's more an extra, than an essential.

Sure it sucks for the kid that happens to have poor parents, but I think it's better to face the reality that you can't afford as much as other people, than live in a tax-funded dream of luxury.

In the past, all this would have meant tax increase, luckily they got smart enough to no longer do it. For one, it would be punishing those tax payers who don't have any kids, and second, why should poor parents do anything about their financial situation, if the state does it for you. It's just the wrong way of dealing with it.

"What is mind, don't matter. What is matter, nevermind!" - Homer J. Simpson.