I think you may be right that you need this kit to do your IR through that school... but I don't know about what is required by the FAA, or what some other school might charge you for Part 141-related materials.
I suspect that training materials for the IR will be more expensive than the PPASEL kit, but it could be that $300 is more than you might pay elsewhere.
You should contact AOPA maybe... meanwhile, there are other members here who know more about Part 141, keep looking here for some feedback.
Good luck!