Teachers dig into their pockets for school supplies

NORFOLK

Being a public school teacher costs Brenda Kennedy money.

Like peers across the country, the Lake Taylor High School teacher digs into her own wallet all year long to equip her classroom and students with supplies the division doesn't pay for.

"If it's necessary for my kids to get through school, then I'll do that," the 38-year teaching veteran said after swinging through three stores in one day on her first shopping trip of the season. She estimates that she spends $750 to $800 annually on class supplies.

The phenomenon of "teacher-funded classrooms," as some websites call it, is as traditional as yellow on school buses, according to education groups.

"All teachers have always done that, spent their own money," said George Jackson, a spokesman for the American Federation of Teachers. "They want to give their kids the best learning experience."

About 92 percent of teachers nationwide spend their own money on classrooms, a U.S. Department of Education survey found in 2006-07.

In Virginia, that figure was 94 percent, with teachers spending an average of $415 apiece. Nationally, the average was $450. Since the survey, recession-driven budget cuts by school divisions have probably pushed that average higher, Jackson said.

Teachers' out-of-pocket spending is so universal that the Internal Revenue Service acknowledges it by allowing teachers a tax deduction of up to $250 for instructional expenses.

"A teacher knows that from the day you walk into the classroom, you're going to be spending your own money," said Norfolk Federation of Teachers President Thomas Calhoun, a veteran teacher in the city's school system.

Kennedy, who teaches personal finance, accounting and keyboarding, started her back-to-school run at Teachers and Parents Store, an education specialty shop at Janaf Shopping Yard.

Eyeing decorative bulletin board borders, she punched her mental calculator. "At $3.99, and I've got two - four - six, that's $24 already!" she said. "We're going to have to wind up at Dollar Tree."

Over the next couple of hours, Kennedy traveled to two more stores: OfficeMax and Dollar Tree. She bought pens, spiral notebooks, dry erase markers, scissors, paper cutouts of hot air balloons and other supplies.

Kennedy said she'd make use of every item, some to pique students' curiosity or reward their performance. The balloon cutouts, for example, would go on a chart celebrating keyboarding students' rising words-per-minute typing speed.

"Everybody works for something," she said. "Not every kid is motivated by education, but if you can make it fun, they'll always come back and be ready to participate."

Most teachers continue buying basic supplies or services as the school year progresses, Calhoun said. For example, some Norfolk schools put a monthly limit on teachers' in-school copying, he said.

"Teachers run out of copying before the end of the month, but they still need copies, so they go to Office Depot or whatever," he said.

Teachers' other big spending category is supplies for students. Divisions typically send home a list of supplies children should bring to class, but many families can't afford them.

Charities and community leaders try to help. Last month, $4,000 worth of school supplies was snapped up in nine minutes at a Norfolk giveaway hosted by City Councilwoman Angelia Williams and the Sheriff Bob McCabe Foundation.

But some students still arrive at school without supplies, and many teachers fill that need at their own expense, said Beverly Anderson, a kindergarten teacher at Alanton Elementary in Virginia Beach.

For example, Anderson said she asks parents to provide a pencil box for their children's writing and craft supplies. "But every year there'll be about 20 who come and don't have one. We wait until there's a sale and then buy for those kids," she said of herself and other kindergarten teachers.

Giving supplies to students isn't part of her contract and no one says she must, Anderson said. But most teachers do it voluntarily and quietly.

"You do it for the kids," she said. "Are you going to sit there and watch a kid who doesn't have what she needs? Absolutely not. If you're that cold, you're not going to be in education."

The Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Suffolk divisions don't give teachers financial aid for supplies. "But we agree that many teachers spend their own money for classroom supplies," Suffolk spokeswoman Bethanne Bradshaw said.

Anderson said she's lucky - at Alanton, the PTA usually gives each teacher around $50 for classroom supplies.

Norfolk teachers are luckier. Their division spent $300,000 to give each teacher a $100 store purchasing card for teaching supplies.

The division gave teachers twice as much last year, but it still is appreciated, Calhoun said. He said the division agreed to give the cards about five years ago as part of a compensation package. "The card was a gesture, and it helped," he said.

Still, it's not nearly adequate, Kennedy said. She, like other Norfolk teachers, hasn't had a raise for four years.

At the end of her shopping trip, she'd maxed out the division's $100 purchase card - and put $19 in expenses on her own credit card.

"This just starts me off," she said. "I'll come back again."

Steven G. Vegh, (757) 446-2417, steven.vegh@pilotonline.com