Every year, public school teachers spend an average of 500 dollars out of their own pockets to pay for needed classroom supplies. That’s a problem that’s getting worse, not better: this year’s state budget cut funding for school supplies, placing an even greater burden on teachers to cover the costs themselves. (Nor is this a problem unique to North Carolina: teachers nationwide face the same challenge.)
But this week, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation and the East Chapel Hill Rotary Club are coming together for an annual event to help ease the burden for hundreds of local teachers.
It’s the 11th annual Teacher Supply Store – a two-day teachers’ shopping spree. Tuesday and Wednesday, more than 650 teachers will get a 75-dollar voucher that they can use to “shop” for supplies they’ll need for their classrooms this year. (This year, the vouchers went to middle and high-school teachers.) Supplies include pens, pencils, paper, staplers, glue, markers, tissues, hand sanitizer, and more. (Organizers say this year’s hot item is Clorox wipes.)
WCHL’s Aaron Keck spoke with PSF executive director Lynn Lehmann, Teacher Supply Store co-chair Allison Worthy, and Mike Clayton of the East Chapel Hill Rotary Club.
Over the last ten years, the Teacher Supply Store has given away more than $325,000 in supplies. This year, 60 volunteers will be on hand to help give away about $50,000 worth of supplies.
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