School Budgets Woes- How much money do you spend from your own pocket for your class needs annually?

The number of teachers who spend less than $100 from their own pocket for their class needs annually represents less than 10% of the respondents to this poll. The majority of teachers spend more than $500.

This proves how dedicated teachers are and how lucky we are that these types of individuals have chosen to educate our children. When teachers know that a particular lesson would be beneficial to students but the supplies are unavailable, this poll proves that they are willing to purchase the necessary materials with their own funds in order to provide the best for their students.

If only a handful of teachers were spending their own money we could assume that school budgets were adequate and that a few teachers simply liked to plan elaborate lessons. However, with the large number of teachers who purchase materials for their class, we have to assume that classroom funding is inadequate.

School districts budgets are a hot topic nowadays. The best way to achieve a balanced budget receives a lot of local media attention and is the source of many discussions. When there is less funding than required to meet all identified needs in a school district, something has to be reduced or cut entirely. Laying-off teachers or educational aides has occurred and class sizes have grown as a result. These are drastic measures and not implemented without much thought and discussion. Easier ways to cut budgets are to decrease levels of funding to schools for supplies or extra-curricular activities.

While these types of budgetary reductions don't impact class sizes or teacher's jobs they do still impact the educational system. Forcing teachers to make do with inadequate levels of supplies or purchasing from their own funds weakens the system and results in a lesser quality of education for our children.

Trying to look on the bright side we can assume that today's students are learning much about the art of sharing. Perhaps taking turns to use the classroom computer and working in groups to share resources makes students kinder and more aware of the needs of their fellow students. In this way budget cuts are beneficial to all students. If you agree with this idea, there is some marshland in Florida we should talk about. It's for sale and an incredible deal.