But the entity who decides to use the book is pretty much the same as the entity who budgets the money for the book. In a university, the students pay while the professors/departments choose.
It's a giant racket too, perhaps even worse than the university-level racket: http://www.textbookleague.org/103feyn.htm
If you are low-income, you can get the fees waived, and the majority of her school books are still free. But not all.