WEST FARGO — As children head back to school, parents are budgeting for supplies, clothes and electronics to help students start the year off right.

The National Retail Federation estimates the average back-to-school spending will be $850 per student, including school supplies, clothes and electronics, which is down $24 from 2024.

Elida Aceves, a West Fargo mother of four, said everything costs more than when she was a child.

"This is their first year, so we wanted them to go back looking good, feeling good, confident," Aceves said of her two oldest children, ages 5 and 6, who are starting kindergarten at L.E. Berger Elementary School.

Aceves and her husband spent between $800 and $1,000 to get their daughters ready for school. Their purchases included new shoes, clothes and school sup

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