Back to School Shopping: Tips from PTA Presidents

It may seem like the school doors just closed for the summer, but the major retailers have already begun promoting their back to school supplies in hopes of wooing more customers than their competition. 

and  draw crowds with their enormous assortment of items, while local drug stores and paper supply stores hope to attract customers seeking personalized service, unique items, and a less crowded shopping environment.

If you’ve waited to the 11th hour to get your back to school shopping started, it can be a daunting task. Toward this end, we asked our resident experts – the PTA presidents from around Yorktown and Cortlandt – to share their own back to school shopping strategies, including how to make shopping easy, where to go for hard to find items, and how to save money while shopping for school supplies.

Like many local schools, the PTA took the stress out of back to school supply shopping by offering parents for the first time the opportunity to order pre-packed back to school supply kits, through the Armonk-based company, Supplies to Please. 

“School Packs are a great way to save time, support the PTA, and avoid aggravation in the fall,” PTA President, Kristin Severino said.  

This year, 28 percent of Crompond’s students ordered the school pack -- "Not bad for our first year," Severino said.  

For older students for whom school packs are not available, Theresa Ryan-Onatzevitch, president of the Yorktown Council of PTAs, suggested shopping at and OfficeMax. These large retail stores offer an assortment of items and rarely sell out of the required supplies. 

Alternatively, if you are looking for a hard to find item, but wish to avoid the crowds associated with Staples and OfficeMax, Ryan-Onatzevitch suggested stopping in the .  

"We have found some of those hard to find items at the A&P in Yorktown," she said.

Supplies to Please owners Michelle Honig and Joanne Williams offer another source for hard to find supplies. While they do not sell school packs to individuals (because they are a fundraising business offering the services to PTAs), they we will sell hard to find items to individuals who are not able to find their required supplies at the retail stores, Honig said.   

To keep costs down, Lisa Goetchius, predisent of in Montrose, has another advice for parents. 

"For those who do not purchase the kits, I would recommend shopping early and watching the fliers in the Sunday paper," she said. "Many of the discount stores offer incredible deals throughout the summer.  Last week I got composition notebooks (marble notebooks) for 40 cents each at Target."

In the end, there are still enough last minute shoppers and parents who missed their school pack deadlines to make August a busy month for most school supply stores. If you prefer a quieter shopping experience, the local drug stores are probably your best bet, but if you don’t mind the crowds and are seeking a wider selection, shop at one of the super stores. If you still can’t decide where to shop, let price be your deciding factor.    

Take a look at our price comparison below.

2 Pocket Portfolios (Folders)

  5 for $1

:  10 for $1

Office Max: .01 (limited to 5)

$.99

2 for $1

Marble Composition Notebooks

A&P: .99 cents

Kmart: $2.59

Office Max: $.05 (limit 5)

Staples: $.10 for the first 3, and then $.77 for each additional notebook

CVS: 2 for $ 3

Binder Filler Paper:

A&P: $2.79 (for 150 sheets)

Kmart: $1.49 (for 150 sheets)

Office Max: $1.99 (200 sheets)

Staples: $.99 (120 sheets)

CVS: $3.29 (120 sheets)

*Note, all prices are based on weekly prices and are subject to change.