Back-to-school costs add up fast for Milwaukee families, but community events are helping ease the financial burden as students prepare to return to classrooms.
At Gee’s Clippers, chairs were full and tables stacked high with supplies as families took advantage of free haircuts and school essentials.
“It gives less of a burden. Haircuts are really expensive nowadays, along with school supplies, all the tariffs happening, so being able to come to events like this gives us one less thing to stress about with school starting again,” Brooke Paynes said.
According to the National Education Association, parents spend an average of $570 to $586 per child on back-to-school costs—a heavy lift for many households. But families say the confidence fresh supplies give kids as they head into a new school year is priceless…