Survey Shows Kentucky Teachers Spend Own Money

New Survey: Back to School = Big Spending for Teachers

Wow, this just in. Teachers in Kentucky spend an average of nearly $500 of their own money for school supplies. Stephanie Winkler, the new president of KEA (Kentucky Education Association), says, "If not us, then who?"  Ms. Winkler taught fourth grade in Richmond for the last 16 years.

"Who's going to do that for students, if we don't?" she asked. "Somebody's got to take care of their basic needs, and school supplies for a school - that is a basic need. We're not ever going to let one child go without, because everybody is deserving."

Winkler said she spends $700 to $1,000 a year of her own money on school supplies. The study, from the National School Supply and Equipment Association, has found that public school teachers nationwide spent $3.2 billion last school year on supplies, and $1.6 billion of that total was from their own pockets.

Winkler, who now heads the largest teachers' group in the state, pointed out that per-pupil funding has fallen in Kentucky from its peak in 2008. As government funding slows, supply costs add up - for parents and teachers both, she said.

"It's sort of a back way for the legislator to tax the taxpayers," Winkler noted.

Winkler added that more money is needed just to keep up with new ways of learning, which lean heavily on technology in the classroom.

Even down to the simple things, like pencils and paper, the survey showed that most teachers are doing their shopping at discount stores in order to afford more for their students. "Teacher days" at stores are a shopping must, Winkler said.

"You're always comparing ads and seeing where you can get the penny pencils and that kind of thing. There's all kinds of deals out there - you've just got to watch the sale ads and clearance items and that kind of thing, all throughout the year. I always bought school supplies all year long," she said.

There is no individual breakdown for the Owensboro area schools but I bet it happens here, too.

The complete study can be found here.

Portions of this story provided by newsservice.org