WASHINGTON, DC – In a recent report from the National Center of Education Statistics, teachers in public
and private schools across the country pay for their classroom supplies. This became an issue in recent teacher strikes.
“Educators want to help children” said Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT in a statement, “that is why as long as their kids lack the essentials, educators will continue to dig deep, while fighting the defunding and underinvestment that created this crisis in the first place. There is no other job I know where the workers subsidize what should be a cost borne by an employer as a necessary ingredient of the job.”
The study also found that teachers in high-poverty schools were more likely to spend personal money on school supplies. Nearly all teachers report spending money for school supplies with the average nearly $500 per year.
