THe primary school my daughter attends has made a real effort to reduce the cost to parents.
They have bought books and rent them to pupils for a nominal fee.
The uniform has no crests or badges to allow parents to buy them anywhere they want to avail of the best prices.
We pay 94 euro to the school for the year which includes all books, art material, workbooks, dance class, even pencils.
Of course the school have other fund raising events, but no-one is put under pressure to spend money that they can't afford.
Parents can influence the school to do more to save money by complaining and getting involved in the parents council. Schools wont change unless parents insist.