![]() In 2021, parents expected to pay almost $500 for back-to-school, although 2022’s survey showed the expected amount had decreased to $409. A majority of those with kids younger than 18 felt stressed about having to pay for back-to-school shopping, while about one-third expected to take on debt to afford it, according to a 2022 survey from LendingTree. Parents can also feel the burden of having to pay for school supplies. “And oftentimes, these schools with students from more affluent backgrounds can just simply ask parents to send in supplies.”īut for teachers in districts with higher poverty rates, they often take it upon themselves to make up the difference, she said. “Schools that have students who are higher-resourced often supplement school budgets through things like the parent-teacher organization,” Peske said. “Some schools offer a certain amount of money for teachers to use for supplies, and other schools may not offer that,” she said.ĭata from the National Center for Education Statistics also shows that teachers spend more at schools in low-income communities. Heather Peske, president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, noted that funding provided by schools can vary widely. “It’s a cliche, but I really felt like I could make a difference,” she said. Lindsey, who originally planned to go to law school, entered the teaching profession 30 years ago. But she spends roughly $300 to $500 on items such as Kleenex, snacks and copy paper - and has exceeded that range in some years. Stacey Lindsey, a Kansas resident who teaches high school seniors, said she gets a small budget for supplies, about $60 a year. After the pandemic began, inflation climbed to a 40-year high, and school supplies haven’t been immune. Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes previously reported that inflation has exacerbated the problem, pressuring teachers to either spend more than they usually would, cut back or seek additional help from their school or community. The average amount was $478.Ī more recent analysis from My eLearning World found that teachers were set to spend more than $820 on classroom supplies - including books, snacks, pencils, paper and cleaning products - during the 2022-23 school year. Ninety-four percent of K-12 instructors in public schools spent their own money, without reimbursement, on supplies during the 2014-15 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. But many teachers spend far more than the assistance provided to them. ![]() Teachers are allowed to deduct up to $300 in out-of-pocket expenses on their taxes, while some schools offer instructors additional funds to help buy extra supplies they need. “I would just like the public to be aware that whenever you walk into a teacher’s classroom,” she said, “that what you’re looking at is their money - their money put toward the education and the success of all those children in that room.” How much do teachers, and parents, shell out? Some of them don’t get dinner,” she said.īut to Threatt, this is not going “above and beyond.” It’s the bare minimum needed to ensure her students’ success and well-being. ![]() “I have snacks for my students because they’re hungry. Other times, it’s for her students’ basic needs - shoes, jackets, even food. Sometimes it’s for supplies, like high-quality paper and books for her classroom library. Wendy Threatt, a fourth-grade teacher with the Escondido Union School District in California, has spent as much as $1,000 of her own money on classroom needs during a school year. What’s behind this change, where teachers have to provide hundreds of dollars worth of supplies for their classrooms, too? I don’t remember any of this from the 1950s when I was in school (maybe pencils?), and not anything like so much from the 1980s when my daughter was in school (still mostly pencils?). Listener Kathy Campbell, who had heard a story about the long list of school supplies that parents have to provide, wrote in with this question: Ever wondered if recycling is worth it ? Or how store brands stack up against name brands? Check out more from the series here. This is just one of the stories from our “I’ve Always Wondered” series, where we tackle all of your questions about the world of business, no matter how big or small.
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