Almost all public school teachers (95%) spend their own money to buy classroom supplies without getting reimbursed, according to the National Teacher and Principal Survey, as reported by Chalkbeat.
Many teachers can deduct up to $300 in classroom expenses from their taxes, but spending often goes far beyond that. Educators reported spending $610 on average for this school year, according to a survey conducted by the crowdfunding platform DonorsChoose.
Most personal out-of-pocket money is spent on necessary materials such as paper, pencils, and markers. Chalkbeat asked more than 120 teachers across the country how much they spend on school supplies and what they spend it on. They reported spending anywhere from $65 to $6,000.
Where does the money go – and why are teachers dipping into their own reserves?
- Judy Hall, an English teacher at Barringer High School in Newark, New Jersey, says she subscribes to some newspapers to use articles to teach English, and she buy books for her classroom’s library. Shel stocks food and other personal-use products her teen students might need. Many of her students are food insecure, so she makes snacks and protein bars available. She also keeps menstrual products, a sewing kit, a full body mirror, and first aid supplies.
Last year, Hall spent around $1,500 on materials and expects to spend the same amount this year. Her spending has gone up mainly because the price of food has increased so much.
- Ellen Brody-Kirmss, a special education teacher at Clara Barton High School, in Brooklyn, New York, says she spends much less money than she used to. She didn’t have lesson plans, or a curriculum, or even her own classroom earlier in her career. She had to buy a rolling cart that she could bring from one place to another.
This year, Brody-Kirmss is teaching a course to students with intellectual disabilities who are part of the ACES [Academics, Career, and Essential Skills] Program. With no ready-made equipment appropriate for them, and each student having specific needs, she has bought calculators, headphones, different writing instruments, and tools to help kids read. She purchases pictures and word games for students because they struggle with discourse. Up to $800 in expenses will come from her own pocket this year.
- Mindy Gunderson, a first grade teacher at Hayden Canyon Charter in Hayden, Idaho, spent about $2,000 to get the new school year started. Her biggest expense was supplies for an independent workstation and classroom decorations.
“I want students to love coming to school. When I incorporate things they enjoy, they want to go to school and learn. Once that happens, I can teach them anything. And if that means I have to invest a little bit of my money, I’m OK with that because I want the relationship and my classroom to be the best place on Earth,” she says.
- Polly Franklin, a Spanish teacher at Lowell Senior High School in Lowell, Indiana, spends most of her money for subscriptions to technology that give her students “the best chance of learning and save me an abundance of time.” She spent about $300 last year on subscriptions and probably will spend closer to $500 this school year.
The ones she pays include Zambombazo, a website [specifically] for Spanish teachers, that gives her games and authentic songs and lyrics to bring into her classroom.
“Like all teachers, my time outside of school is stretched thin during the school year. I am a full-time caretaker of a family member and I’m getting a master’s degree. Even though I spend my own money reluctantly, I know it’s worth it for the kids’ enjoyment of lessons, and also for my own sanity. It is sad to me that, for a lot of us, any small salary raise we get seems to just go right back into the classroom,” she says.
- Ceretta Morris, a Language Arts and social studies teacher at John D. Shoop Academy in Chicago, teaches three grade levels and four classes of 25 kids daily, so she spends heavily on supplies: a box of 500 pre-sharpened pencils, heavy-duty pencil sharpeners, folders, and boxes of copy paper.
“I’m the queen of taking advantage of all available donations: Donor Choose, AdoptAClassroom, GoFundMe … I do all of those, but I still spent about $600 out of my pocket. I also tried to put some of the material in a supply list, but getting middle school parents to shop for school supplies is hard,” she says.
Chalkbeat
