MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - It's that time of year again.

"I am going to Kinawa and I am going to go to fifth grade," said ten-year-old, Lauren Tabone.

The summer is ending and parents are getting ready to send their children back to school.

"I think its good for them to get back to school and get back into the routine," said Holt resident Jamie Pollitt.

And while getting them out of the house may be nice, the expenses —not so much.

"You need more binders and papers and folders," said Julie Bourgeois who has two sons going to Okemos high school.

"You have to have colored pencils, or markers, sometimes they want to have highlighters, and red pens and black pens," said Fowlerville resident Kristine Miller.

"New backpacks, those aren't cheap," Bourgeois said.

And as the child gets older, specialized tools such as scientific calculators are added to the list.

"The calculators, some of them can between 75 and 100 dollars," Bourgeois said.

Not only do the students need school supplies, but new clothing is often also necessary.

"Kids grew all the time over the summer, so nothing would ever fit," said Brighton resident Vicki Dan.

My son, he's 14 now and he's grown out of most of his clothing that he had last year

"Already clothing wise, they're probably at at least $100 to $200 dollars each already," Miller said.

And if their child decides to play a sport, the cost continues to climb.

"It's like $200 dollars to play, plus the physical, and then you had to purchase some of the equipment, and it was astronomical just for two-and-a-half months to play football," said Bourgeois.

But as most parents agree, while sending a kid back to school may be expensive, most also agree that the cost of education is priceless.

"It seems like a lot but it's very well worth it, always happy with the results," said Okemos resident Rebecca Tabone.