Re: "Allen parents of 3 shell out, tally it up – Even before classes begin, expenses hit a high note," Wednesday news story.

Your story on the high cost of schools was a bit on the ridiculous side. You listed $1,800 for trips to Hawaii, $200 for class rings, $200 for varsity jackets and more than $200 for band fees.

A trip to Hawaii, varsity jackets, class rings and band instruments are not a necessary part of the educational process. Maybe I will sound like a sore sport, but, in all my 58 years, I have never been to Hawaii. I never had a varsity jacket and I worked to pay for my own class ring.

The only real expenses I saw in the article were about $30 of school supplies. Even the $10 cafeteria deposit was ridiculous to list as a cost, as meals are subsidized, and the cost of feeding a student at school is probably less than a family would spend at home.

Jim Sheridan, The Colony