A post in another forum got me to wondering. Is mine the only county that doesn't allow their teachers a certain amount for consumable rewards (and other items) for their classroom? I am just curious since even when I taught back in private school in Kentucky we were allowed around $150/semester for classroom items.
Our school also doesn't have a "classroom" budget. We have a school budget that you can use, but if you don't get there first you don't get anything! This year the 6th grade teachers used up all the money-literally! I had to fight to get a chart tablet! So the only thing I ordered this year was a chart tablet-that is it! I will be more on the ball next year!
It used to be $300 but the new principal said order what you need so some people go a little over, some a little under. New teachers would spend more because they are just setting up...No one takes advantage of it.
I feel fortunate. We each get $500 a year. I also get $800 extra because I am a new teacher, and I have to prepare for Praxis III. They are pretty picky about what I spend my $800 on, though.
$100 per classroom. But, as math coordinator I put in a $1,000 order because we had almost nothing. Yahoo!! Finally.
We were originally given $300.00 for each resource center, but then due to budget cuts which were great this year we had it cut to $150.00, and I think classroom teachers actually got $300.00. It varies depending what your specialty is, speech, art, phys. ed. For those of you who are not given an amount to spend - are you at least allowed before school starts to write notes to the parents with a supply list??
We turn a list in to the school at the end of the year, some they get some they don't (we get a box of dry erase markers, red pens, a few odd and end things such as that. The school buys one black ink cartridge. We don't get any money for our rooms. Our kids don't pay a supply fee, the school board buys some supplies (notebooks, folders, paper, etc). We can ask for an art fee, but can't be large (our kindergarten asks for $5, the rest of us ask for $3). That's about it. Anything else we want, we buy ourselves.
Each classroom teacher gets $200. (I get $400 because I have 2 classes.) The librarian gets $1000 to buy books and AR supplies. We also get technology money, science money, and literacy money that gets combined into one amount. This money is part of a grant and is based on the number of students you have, which means I also get more than the other teachers too. (I usually get around $120.) We have community supplies in our prep-room like pens,rubber bands, paper clips, markers, dry-erase markers, tons of construction paper in all different colors and sizes, tempra paint, etc. Our PTA gives each class $350 specifically for field trips. (I get $700.) It's great because I don't have to ask for money from parents for field trips.
OH yes, I do feel the need to mention at my school they supply our computer ink and the like. If we run out of some standard thing, such as dry erase markers or chalk (pens too!) They keep a supply in the office "just in case". We don't go without things we really need, our principal is great to take care of us. Since I'm a band director I have an additional "band" budget to spend on music, repairs, etc... the art teacher and coaches, etc all have extra budgets too. Our $75 is just to set us up with basic supplies for the upcoming year.
At the district I was just hired in, I recieved $150 budget. The returning teachers were allowed $100. The budget isn't just money that you can spend anywehere for us. You have to order from a specific catalog, which can be very expensive!
I don't know how much classroom teachers get in our schools (I'm still a student teacher) but I know they get some amount from parent council, something in the range of $300.00 usually. Also, as a parent, we get a big list of supplies and we also have about a $25.00 "classroom fee" for supplies, special art stuff, cooking supplies, and an agenda book for our child.
I just had to post here to make everyone jealous. I receive $4,500 each year for supplies and to upgrade/replace equipment. I also have a local income account, and we earn around $5,000 every year that can also be spent. In fact, I've spent the past month buying around $8,000 worth of equipment on ebay (it's been a fun summer). I teach video production in high school, so there are obviously costs that aren't incurred in a regular classroom. We're having to make a total switch from our old VHS/SVHS format over to a DV format because the manufacturers aren't even making professional VHS equipment any more. With a quarter million dollar facility, that's a whole lot of replacement equipment that I've had to buy over the past few years attempting to make the switch, yet stay operational for the classes.
I feel very fortunate too after hearing some of you...I get $150 school money that can be spent on anything, anywhere. I also get $150 BEP money (usually) that can only be spent on items that are non-consumable (but can be bought from anywhere). I also get $50 from our PTSO. We also do a basket raffle where the proceeds go to the classroom teacher. Our grade level also gets about $100 per teacher extra to pool on larger ticket items that we can share. But with this money, we are expected to buy all construction paper, pens, pencils, supplies, writing paper, charts, dry erase markers, etc. The only thing that we don't have to buy (which I am very, very glad about) is copy paper, laminating film, printer cartridges, butcher paper. I feel really sorry for some of you who get so little. How do the schools get away with it?
It even sometimes depends on the building principal! We have 5 schools in our district and each one gives a different amount to its teachers. We might get $300.00 at our school, and at the school on the other side of town, same district and township, same board of ed., their principal is giving them $75-$100.00!
