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More and more, teachers reach into their pockets to buy students' supplies
Posted: 9/8/2009 4:01:36 PM
Edgerton teacher Amy Calkins testifies at the Capitol
in Madison in favor of an Assembly bill that creates
a state tax deduction for educators who use their
own money to buy school supplies.
The national recession not only has caused a spike in unemployment rates and cutbacks in budgets, it has impacted in several ways the basic items students need in classes every day. Districts are cutting back on and families are struggling to afford the pens, pencils, notebooks and other items that students rely on.
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During a recent parent-teacher night, Marcia Roberts of Mineral Point Elementary School found that families could afford only a selection of items for incoming students, putting off buying some items to later in the year. So Roberts did the only thing she could think of – she bought the supplies herself.
“Parents said they just did not have enough money to purchase all of the supplies at one time,” Roberts said. “Not wanting the students lacking supplies to start the school year at a learning and social disadvantage, I went out and purchased what was necessary.”
Roberts and other education advocates are telling their stories in support of a State Assembly bill that would create a state tax deduction for teachers who use their own money to purchase supplies for students. The measure, Assembly Bill 140, creates a $250 state tax deduction mirroring the existing $250 federal tax deduction. The federal deduction is accessible to educators if Congress adopts it each year. Should Congress not pick up the federal deduction, the state tax deduction goes up to $500.
Roberts testified in favor of the bill Tuesday (September 8) at the Capitol in Madison.
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| Calkins and Mineral Point teacher Marcia
Roberts talk with State Representative Kim
Hixson about the educator tax deduction bill
at the Capitol. |
Roberts, a first-grade teacher for all but two of her 13 years with the Mineral Point School District, said teachers regularly buy supplies for students that districts are having a difficult time funding. Roberts said she spoke with more than a dozen colleagues about their recent expenditures for student supplies and the classroom teachers spent an average of $750 a year each of their own money.
“Mineral Point schools are no different when it comes to tight budgets. Our class sizes are getting larger in the elementary school, and it is not due to increased enrollment. Instead, our district has had to make the decision not to rehire when a teacher retires,” Roberts said. “In addition to staff reduction, there have been budget cuts in maintenance, basic supplies, as well as replacement and new materials. This has caused the shifting of more costs onto parents and staff, even as they suffer their own financial hit in a down economy. Many parents are struggling with job losses or pay cuts. Teachers are finding the need to dig deeper into their own pockets to fund basic materials.”
Without an educator supplying those pens or notebooks, some students would go without, negatively impacting their education. Amy Calkins, a teacher in the Edgerton School District, said the teacher expenditures also go beyond stationery items.
“Nearly all of my own students receive free or reduced-price lunches. Money is pretty scarce in their homes. That means that the calculator for an advanced math class, the athletic fee to go out for sports, or the cost of a field trip is a real stretch. Sometimes it’s as basic as poster board for a project or as serious as a winter coat or boots,” Calkins said, adding that educators also donate supplies through a charitable organization. “Through a long-running program at the high school, called the Giving Tree, teachers make anonymous contributions to provide students with these necessities. Each year several thousand dollars are donated and put to good use.”
Calkins said a flawed school funding system is putting more costs on parents and teachers to make up the difference. Districts cut back on budgets for student supplies, but those pens and pencils are necessary for schoolwork.
“I have yet to meet a teacher who doesn’t go above and beyond in some way. Most of the teachers I know routinely purchase supplies, subsidize field trips, add color to their classrooms, support their colleagues and their district, all out of pocket,” Calkins said. “Each year it seems budgets are cut, so we are asked to do more with less. That means that until there is meaningful school finance reform, each teacher shoulders a greater burden just to keep the learning happening for his or her students.”
Studies show that Roberts and Calkins are not alone; educators are spending more of their own funds each year to supply their classrooms, including purchasing essential items such as pencils, glue, scissors, and facial tissues. For example, the National School Supply and Equipment Association found that in 2005-06, educators spent out of their own pockets an average of $826 for supplies and an additional $926 for instructional materials, for a total of $1,752.
Creating an educator tax deduction at the state level recognizes the dedication and sacrifice of educators and helps them cover their personal expenses to educate our children. Assembly Bill 140 also makes the state tax deduction permanent, whereas the federal tax deduction is dependent on reauthorization by Congress every fiscal year.