Pencils, pens, copybooks, toilet paper. You know times are hard for a school when pupils are asked to bring in their own supplies of the latter.
And it may just be the straw that breaks the camel's back for parents as a school in Spain has found out.
A row over supply of toilet paper has broken out in the Spanish town of Yepes, 50 kilometres south of Madrid, prompting local officials to step in.
The government-run Rafael Garcia Valino primary school recently sent out a list of supplies students need for class this year. Among the pens and notebooks was an unexpected item: six rolls of toilet paper.
One parent, Carmen Contreras, complained on her Facebook page that the requirement was "totally surreal". She said the school told her it did not have enough money for toilet paper.
The ABC newspaper said the local council had offered to resolve the shortage by supplying rolls for the whole school.
All’s well that ends well. For now.
PA