Local Retailers Stock "Adequate" Pencil Supply For Back-to-School Rush; Piggly Wiggly Reports "Probably Enough"

WAUKESHA — With the Waukesha School District's first day set for Wednesday, August 26, downtown retailers say they have completed their back-to-school preparations and are reporting pencil inventory levels they characterize as sufficient for anticipated demand. The Piggly Wiggly on Grand Avenue confirmed Sunday it had stocked writing utensils "to a level we believe addresses customer needs," a phrase store manager Linda Oskowski repeated twice during a three-minute interview, once unprompted.

Oskowski said the store received its supplemental school-supply shipment on August 18, eight days ahead of the district's start date, and that the pallet included "a normal amount" of No. 2 pencils, wide-ruled notebooks, and glue sticks in both the standard and purple-tinted varieties. "We didn't overorder and we didn't underorder," Oskowski said. "We ordered what we thought the neighborhood would need, based on past years, and so far that number has held up."

"We Have ButterBurgers Prepared"

At the Culver's location on nearby Sunset Drive, general manager Doug Prellwitz said his store had separately readied for an expected increase in teenage lunch traffic in the days leading up to and following the start of classes. "We have ButterBurgers prepared for the expected increase in teen customers seeking lunch before class," Prellwitz said, adding that the restaurant had adjusted its Wednesday morning staffing schedule to add one additional grill cook between 10:45 a.m. and 1 p.m., a window he described as "historically our riskiest for line length."

"If a parent needs a pencil, we probably have one."

— Store manager, downtown Waukesha office-supply retailer

At an office-supply store on East Avenue that asked to be identified only by its manager's quote and not by name, the manager described business as "normal" and inventory as "not a concern." Asked to elaborate on what "not a concern" meant in terms of actual pencil count, the manager said the store did not track exact figures but estimated the back room held "several boxes, maybe more," and reiterated that a walk-in parent in need of a single pencil would not be turned away.

Notebooks Trending Flat

Not every category saw a shipment increase. Oskowski said notebook orders were kept at last year's volume after 2025's back-to-school season ended with 14 unsold wide-ruled notebooks still on the shelf in late September, a number she called "not alarming, but worth remembering." Folders, by contrast, were ordered up 10 percent over last year "just in case," though Oskowski said she could not point to a specific reason for the adjustment beyond "a feeling."

District spokesperson representatives were not made available for comment on supply-chain matters, as school supply procurement falls to individual families rather than the district itself. Waukesha School District's first day of classes begins Wednesday, August 26, for all grade levels.

Oskowski said the Grand Avenue Piggly Wiggly would remain open until 9 p.m. through Tuesday night "for anyone who's been putting this off," and confirmed the store's pencil stock was, as of Sunday evening, still described internally as "probably enough."