21 Aug Back To School Nightmare: Teachers Paying For Student Supplies

Does your job require you to buy printer paper and pens? When you have to get things for your office, do you pay for it personally without ever getting reimbursed by your job? If you do, you are either an entreprenuer or 96% of teachers.

I hear some doubters already. “So what if teachers have to buy an extra box of crayons here or there?” “I mean how much can construction paper cost?”

The numbers are bad…really bad

Well, according to 1,491 teachers polled, the average they pay out of pocket on school supplies for their students is $470 on average. To put that in perspective, that’s almost 2% of their annual take home pay for the average teacher. That’s 2% of their hard earned money to buy some of the most BASIC SUPPLIES for their students.

You know what I did when I needed pens or paperclips at my office? I walked to the supply closet and grabbed some. How much did I pay for that? However many calories my body required to burn in order for me to walk 50 feet, reach up on a shelf and walk the 50 feet back to my desk. In other words, zero.

This continues to add to the dysfunction our school systems operate in. The United States is 5th in the world on  money spent per student compared to the other countries in the world and yet we rank in the 30s on most subjects like math and science.

If there isn’t enough money going around for something as basic as a supply closet, you have to ask the question, what are we spending the money on? That’s another article for another day, but I want to focus on this…

Teachers having problems affording housing

1 in 5 teachers are cost burdened by their home. What does “cost burdened” mean? That means that they are paying over 31% of their annual salary on their rent/mortgage. The recommended level is 25-28% of your annual income on housing.

When you look at it in that context, 2% of your annual salary makes a huge difference! For pencils and markers and paper!

What we can do

So I encourage everyone to support your local schools. These children are our futures. Help with back to school drives. If you know any teachers, ask them what supplies they usually run out of and go to the store and buy a box for $20. The impact something so simple can make on the teachers and children is massive.

The problem is big but the solution can be small if we all take part in it. Let’s do what we can to end this back to school nightmare for teachers and ensure that they have the supplies they need to teach the new generation!