For several years running, WBAL-TV, the NBC affiliate in Baltimore, has sponsored the “Stuff the Bus” campaign, encouraging community members to donate supplies for schools in the region.
Reporter Breana Ross spoke with Anne Arundel County School Board President Robert Silkworth about the legacy of longtime WBAL education reporter Dr Tim Tooten, whose years on the education beat left a lasting mark on school communities across Baltimore.
Ross estimated about $13,000 worth of school supplies had been collected at this year’s Stuff the Bus block party for Anne Arundel County Public Schools, though she suggested the total may have risen since her count. Additional drives are scheduled or have already taken place in other area school districts.
Donation drives like Stuff the Bus have become common nationwide, as schools seek to offset the large amount of money teachers spend on their own classrooms. A recent commentary noted that US teachers collectively spend billions of dollars each year out of pocket to provide students with essential materials such as paper, pencils, books, lab consumables, snacks, and hygiene products.
In Chicago, the nation’s fourth-largest school district organized a “Back to School Bash” around Piotrowski Park last week, one of four such events held before the first day of school. The Chicago Tribune reported that parents were able to pick up free school supplies for their children.
“Things have just skyrocketed in price: the paper, the pencils, disinfecting wipes, everything they need,” one parent told the Tribune. “I don’t want them to go to school unprepared like some of the other kids.”
The rising cost of supplies is a growing challenge. Federal data show that as of May 2025, prices for educational books and supplies, including elementary, high school, and college textbooks, were 9.4 percent higher than the year before. Prices for food provided at elementary and secondary schools, often through cafeterias, were 3.3 percent higher over the same period.
At the Chicago Back to School Bash, organizers also offered free food and refreshments, ensuring families left with both school necessities and some relief from rising costs.