Teachers are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure their students have the school supplies they need, but how much do they spend out of pocket each year and what needs to change nationally to ensure teachers and classrooms are successful?

Channel 11 News met with a group of educators from various school districts in Western Pennsylvania and had candid discussions.

Due to inflation, teachers earn 5 percent less than they did ten years ago, but spend hundreds more.

According to the National Education Association, teachers spend about $673 each year on school supplies.

“Who is paying for these deliveries?” asked WPXI reporter Talia Kirkland.

The group of educators giggled at the question and then unanimously referred to themselves.

“I would say I spend between $300 and $600 a year (on teaching materials),” said Joie Dusold.

We spoke to three educators:

Dusold, a special education teacher who taught in the Aliquippa School District, has been the assistant director of special education in Southwood for nearly 30 years. Tracy Johns has been a teacher in Pittsburgh Public Schools for more than 24 years, and Angela Girol, a teacher in the Elizabeth Forward School District, has worked in various school districts throughout Western Pennsylvania for two decades.

The school districts in which these educators work vary in size, demographics and location, but the problem is the same everywhere: classrooms are underfunded, which puts pressure on teachers.

“People don’t understand that their property taxes keep going up even though the legislature hasn’t increased the budget for schools,” Girol said.

Some teachers receive a small grant from their district each year to help pay for supplies, and others are able to claim a tax credit. However, this is not possible for most school districts in our region.

“My school district does give me a budget, but we’ve seen the budget shrink year after year as our class sizes get bigger. We all pay out of pocket and you can only deduct money if you make money, and teachers don’t make enough,” Girol explained.

Johns works in a school district with no budget: “I have a great administrator and he gives us a wish list, but most of my work I have to pay for out of my own pocket.”

The educators we spoke to explained the difficulties but said there is help available in the form of a local nonprofit organization, Education Partnership.

Last school year, 191 schools and 10,000 teachers were provided with important teaching materials free of charge.

“Without Ed Partnership, my children would not have had pencils, pens, markers or glue, which are really important,” said Dusold.

To qualify, at least 70 percent of a district’s student body must receive free or reduced-price lunch. Josh Whiteside, executive director of the Education Partnership, said there are 100 other schools in the region that qualify but are not affiliated.

“There are many schools in southwestern Pennsylvania that simply cannot provide their teachers with everything they need to teach effectively and the way they want to,” Whiteside said.

We went shopping with the educators to see how this program is filling the gaps for teachers, students and the entire student village.

“I want to make the lessons as exciting as possible, so I adapt to their culture. That’s part of teaching. You need these materials so that the children can participate, feel safe and open up,” says Johns.

While the average out-of-pocket expense for teachers in the country is $600, Whiteside estimates that the annual cost is closer to $1,000.

“What’s interesting is that even when teachers are getting everything they need from The Education Partnership, they’re still willing to give to their students. It’s about things that are fun and experiences that they want to give their kids (and spend money on),” Whiteside said.

Given the ever-increasing cost of school supplies, we asked our educators whether they expect the costs to become too high at some point.

For this group the answer was no.

“I was born to be a teacher. I already knew in second grade that I would become a teacher,” said Dusold.

Grisol added: “Teachers have to make more money than we do, but we are not going to quit our jobs because that is not the case. We always come back and work harder.”

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