HONOLULU -- Washington Middle School is busy preparing for the 850 students who head back to class on Monday.

"I think if you're an educator, the new school year always bring some excitement and some thought as to how things are going to be better," said Principal Michael Harada.

Sharon Romero was surprised at the cost of getting her daughter, Anjelica, 12, ready for the sixth grade after being home schooled up until now.

"I didn't know I had to pay for all this stuff. It's all new to me, supplies and all these fees," said Romero.

Harada is applauding his staff for being enthusiastic about the new school year while he struggles to manage a 10 percent cut in the school's budget.

"We're maintaining a larger staff, so that cuts down on supplies and equipment," said Harada. "So we're not picking up any new textbooks, and we're not picking up any new computer equipment, which this year, because of online assessments, is going to be particularly tight."

That means parents have to pitch in with basic school supplies this year more than ever.

"Tissues, zip lock bags, some of its ridiculous, like dry erase markers," said Angel Niemi, mother of a first grader at Mokapu Elementary. "I don't know why you need those in the first grade."

"It's just hard finding everything," said Lizzy Woolsey, mother of a kindergartner at Haleiwa Elementary. "It's not so much the stuff we have to buy, but it's how it's labeled. It's very specific for kindergarten. It's like, I don't want to be wrong."

Niemi isn't the only parent cringing at the long list of items the children need to go back to class. But she's optimistic this year will be much more productive without teacher furloughs.

"It was very frustrating because they missed a lot of things. They didn't get to have school programs and stuff this year, but this year, I'm hoping they'll be able to add more of the fun activities for them," said Niemi.

Be prepared for an especially big back-to-school rush. Instead of the kids heading back to class over several days, this year, almost all public school kids are starting classes on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Some other reminders: bus fares have gone up along with the price of school meals.