More than 3,000 New York City public school teachers are begging for donations for basic classroom supplies – even as the city Department of Education is projected to spend a record-breaking $42,000 per pupil when students return to school Sept. 4.

Teacher Sherri Jackson is one of 3,385 city educators relying on the online fundraising platform DonorsChoose to fund items outside of their school’s budget and beyond what they already spend out of their own pockets.

Erica Yonks, an art teacher at the High School for Law Advocacy and Community Justice on the Upper West Side, also needs hygiene products — plus art supplies. Courtesy of DonorsChoose

She is asking for money for bandages, hygiene products like deodorant and menstrual pads, and warm clothing – because they’re as essential to her low-income students as pencils, she told The Post. 

“I cannot go and be like, ‘Hey, Department of Education, I need Bandaids and I need sanitary napkins to have in my classroom, because my students are starting their cycles and they need the supplies. They’ll look at me like, ‘That’s not important.” But it is,” said Jackson, who teaches fifth grade at KIPP All Middle School in Mott Haven, where 85% of students receive free or reduced-price lunches. 

“We have to pay for things out of pocket . . . that are not being given to us. That’s why I rely on DonorsChoose,” Jackson said.

“There’s no other profession where you’re expected to provide literally the basics that you need to do your job on your own – let alone what the kids need too,” said Yonks. Courtesy of Erica Yonks

Erica Yonks, an art teacher at the High School for Law Advocacy and Community Justice on the Upper West Side, also needs hygiene products — plus art supplies.

“There’s no other profession where you’re expected to provide literally the basics that you need to do your job on your own – let alone what the kids need too,” said Yonks.

The 11th- and 12th-grade teacher said she gets around $400 from her school to spend on supplies for approximately 150 students — a measley $3 per pupil. 

Under the Teacher’s Choice program, the DOE afforded each teacher $235 reimbursement for supplies last year, if instructors turned in receipts. The reimbursement amount this year has not been set, but many educators say the fund only covers a fraction of what they expect to spend throughout the school year.

The district funds schools on an equity based per pupil funding model, according to the DOE, which said that principals ultimately decide how to spend the dough.

More than 3,000 city educators are relying on the online fundraising platform DonorsChoose to fund items outside of their school’s budget and beyond what they already spend out of their own pockets. WavebreakMediaMicro – stock.adobe.com

“I need basic teacher stuff – highlighters, pens, pencils and copy paper – so it’s a battle of spending my budget on logistical teacher needs and art stuff that I want the kids to experience,” Yonks told The Post. 

The Citizen Budget Commission projects the DOE will shell out $42,168 per pupil this year – up from last year’s $40,639. Yet NYC teacher requests on DonorsChoose is already up to a collective $4.1 million as the school year begins.

“No teacher should have to fundraise for basic supplies,” said Manhattan Institute fellow Danyela Souza Egorov of the “absurd” need to crowdsource. “It’s just another sign of the DOE’s incompetence in managing public funds.”

“We are proud to provide our schools with the resources they need to support their students and provide a world class education, in addition to free school meals for every student, dedicated facilities teams that keep our schools clean, and school nurses equipped to step in when needed,” a DOE spokesperson said. “We commend our educators who choose to go above and beyond, raising extra funds for their classrooms and collecting extra resources for students who may need them.”

Additional reporting by Susan Edelman.