In a flash of cash, summer is gone

Summer has flown by. It’s hard to write about the end of summer nearing as I sit here with the mercury topping out at 102 degrees Tuesday afternoon, but back to school time is here.

The lazy days of summer are gone and everything is gearing up for the fall frenzy.

Two-a-days started Monday in Jacksboro with football players taking part in two morning practices. 

The band kids started practicing last week. 

The Jacksboro Lions Club packed the bus and as this paper hits the newsstands, the Jacksboro Back to School Fair will be underway.

In the coming weeks, students will meet the teachers and sports fans will meet the pirates, cowboys and tigers.

We all only have two short weeks left to visit the Jacksboro City Pool.

Everybody is gearing up for the major shopping expeditions to outfit students for another year of learning with this being the annual Sales Tax Holiday weekend.

We’ve got dental visits scheduled and it’s time for another trip to the eye doctor. Yep, summer vacation for the most part has come to an end for our household.

And I am sad to see it go, but it’s departure means an increase in business for many. Back to school is considered the second busiest shopping season of the year.

A study from Deloitte shows an average of $375 per person was spent in 2015. 

Last year, family clothing stores saw sales of $8.8 billion in August according to the US Census Bureau. 

In 2014, there were 77.2 million students in the US enrolled from nursery school to college — 25.6 percent of the population age 3 and older.

That’s a lot of pens, pencils and erasers — $17.7 million worth of erasers imported last year according to census data.

There were 48.3 million enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools in 2014 with an average of $11,009 in per pupil spending to educate them. 

All education construction is estimated at $83.5 billion in 2015.

For 2014, 40 percent of all 18- to 24-year olds were enrolled in college or graduate school. That’s a lot of student loans!