We are halfway through the school year, and I have already spent over $500 of my own money on my 6th grade classroom at Willard Middle School.
My students’ parents have also spent well over that, sending in box after box of school supplies from my wishlist, not to mention all the fundraising the PTA engages in. I consider myself scrappy — I found one of the four bookcases in my classroom lying on Stuart Street on my way to work. The others came from Facebook Marketplace, where I have been known to beg sellers to donate furniture: a stationary bike with a desk for kids who need to move, a classroom rug. And I’m lucky: I have a community of parents able to continually donate to my classroom’s wishlist; not every teacher has a classroom with such well-resourced parents. But all this is still not enough. Almost every year, I resort to requesting money for books through a crowdfunding platform built for teachers seeking school supplies.
You would be hard pressed to name another salaried profession in which the worker is continually spending their own money to serve their clientele. But this is commonplace for teachers. When I sent out an informal survey to 42 of my Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) colleagues, about 50% reported spending over $500 annually on their students out of pocket and another 25% said they spend between $300 and $500. One teacher said they spend more than $2,500 per year.
What do we spend money on? Well, lots of things: math manipulatives, sensory toys, science materials, wall charts, printer toner, online teaching tool subscriptions and art paper for special projects. Most English teachers and elementary teachers spend at least some money on classroom libraries that continually need to be replenished. (One of the sweetest perks of my job is that feeling you get when you can match a kid with their perfect book. My kiddos know, if they ask, I will get that book in their hands, even if I have to order it myself.)
In addition, 98% of the surveyed teachers said they spend part of their money on snacks for students. This comment from the survey explains why: “While I understand snacks are not considered an essential part of education and thus are not covered by school budgets, working at a continuation/alternative school I find that sometimes snacks are the only thing that get students to show up to class. If I can just get them in the door, then I can teach them. I don’t think I would be nearly as successful without the snacks I provide to students.”
Of the teachers surveyed, 62% reported spending on art supplies. (I just spent $85 on clay so that my 60 6th grade students could write in cuneiform and build ziggurats as they learned about ancient Mesopotamia.) The survey found that 88% of teachers spend money on prizes and incentives for their classroom, and 71% spent money on basic hygiene supplies such as tissues, Band-Aids, maxi pads and first aid kits, explaining that site stashes of supplies often run out by mid-year. Several teachers also shared that they bought Clipper cards, shoes, clothing and even prom tickets for their students most in need. We want the absolute best for our students. But man, it adds up.
And it’s not always equitable: More experienced teachers are often more savvy and know how to scrounge and write mini-grants; we’ve also built up a closet full of supplies. Teachers who have wealthier partners or communities can often spend a bit more, while teachers with less means feel the gut punch of not being able to provide those “extras.” One comment in the survey from a teacher who is a single parent: “Having prizes for a raffle drawing is a huge motivator for students and I would do them more often if I had a spending budget for the prizes … but I don’t. And some teachers are able to spend more and they come to my class with their awesome treats/prizes and it makes me feel like it is a competition that I can’t even take part in because I can’t afford to.”
This prompts the question as we face down a wave of coming teacher retirements: How are our newer teachers going to be able to continue to afford to teach in Berkeley? Because here we are, with teachers working without a contract for over a year and a district that is offering only a 1% increase in pay, while our employee health care contributions continue to skyrocket, which is a de facto pay cut for many of us. One teacher shared: “I have to be really mindful to make it work because I don’t have extra money to spend. I am already living paycheck to paycheck and barely making it. It is getting too expensive to live and work in Berkeley.”
BUSD provides, of course, basics like staplers, dry erase markers, tape, paper and scissors, and there are processes for purchasing additional supplies, but the minutiae of a classroom means there is always something else, and it’s often small purchases that add up over time.
Something has to change because teachers and the community are paying out of pocket to create these classrooms where children can thrive. Caety Klingman, a teacher at Berkeley Technology Academy, said it best: “What I am asking is for the community to realize that as teachers, we love our kids. I don’t know a single teacher that only teaches 40 hours a week. I don’t know a single teacher who doesn’t spend at least SOME of their personal finances on their students. When we ask for higher compensation, it is because we need it to be able to continue teaching and supporting these kids. We are not trying to be greedy. We just need enough to keep teaching in this district and not to have to seek a higher-paying job elsewhere.”
Aryn Faur teaches English and history at Willard Middle School.
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