Say WHAT?!

This morning, when I picked the boys up from preschool I was given a registration packet just in case we wanted to enroll Owen in Sherwood's kindergarten next year. I have a lot to say on the words "just in case" and the face that it's more like the unspoken rule: "do it or you're fired", but I won't go into that here, now.
Anyway, let me pick my jaw up off the floor to relay this information to you and you can either agree that the costs of sending Owen to Sherwood are absolutely LAUGHABLE or...tell me I'm crazy and to get over it.

Try this on for size: Your wee 5 year old boy is preparing to enter kindergarten in the fall. You open your welcome packet and peruse your costs. Here's what you see:

New Student Application & Testing Fee: $50
Initial Registration Fee: $300
"Tuition Assurance Fee" I'm still trying to figure out what this means: $150
Technology Fee: $100

So...right off the bat, we've got to pay $600 UP FRONT before the school year even starts. THEN, throw in the actual tuition of $4,425.00 available in low monthly payments of only $442.50, just to make things a little easier on you, thankyouverymuch. NOW, granted that we would get a small discount, considering that Steve is employed by the school, but I'm not sure how much - 15%, 25% maybe?

Oh yes, but let's not forget the UNIFORMS, which absolutely MUST be purchased by XX Uniform Company because they are of the utmost quality and affordable to the masses
the school gets a kickback for it.

So....let's go minimalist and say that we get the O-dawg 2 pants, 2 shorts, 3 short-sleeve shirts, and 3 long-sleeve shirts. The total for that small wardrobe (that he can't wear anywhere else but to school, and may outgrow half of part way during the school year)?? That would cost $204.90 plus tax. Oh, and heck, let's throw in a sweatshirt for the couple of months it's cold out - that'll be an extra $25.45. And a hooded jacket for the spring? Well, sure! $30.74 please, bringing our grand total bare minimum clothing cost to: $261.09. Plus tax. And please don't tear them, or get them dirty, or grow out of them because little boys never do things like that.

SO our total for my 50lb little boy to start learning how to read at SCA in the fall will be approximately $5286.09. Throw in a few hundred in incidentals (field trips, christmas parties, cupcakes for the class on your birthday, etc. etc) and you have enough money to take the fam to Aruba for 2 weeks over spring break.

I vote for Aruba.