How much money do you get from your school for supplies?

I teach in NYC, and we get $200 to spend as we wish.

With that money I buy all of my classroom decorations, some storage for organizing, and my personal supplies. I always have extra left over and will buy extra supplies for my students. I shop the back to school sales to make the $200 last.

 

In our district, it went up from $100 to $250 with our last contract negotiation (strike) two years ago. We submit total receipts for $250 to our clerk and get a check within a month or so. I make sure to hang on to every receipt over the summer and try to get it submitted by the end of September.

 

Nothing. We request any office supplies we want through the office. I buy most of my own things because I want nicer quality things.

 

This is the way it works in my district.

 

We don't get any either.

 

I'm in NC, last year we got 40, this year we got 75. However, we have to order off of the list that the office provides.

 

this is the way it is in my district. I actually prefer it this way - I have more control over the stuff in my room. Of course the downside is shopping during the "back to school" madness I mentioned in another thread.

 

$0. We use to get a certain amount. We can ask secretary and P that we need ____ and often we can get it if it is for the classroom.

 

State law is $500. We give $100 for copy paper and toner, so $400 for our classroom each year.

 

$0.

 

$0.

 

Nothing for us.

 

None.

They do not reimburse for supplies and while they claim they do, they don't always reimburse for PDs we have to pay for. That's why I refuse to go to non-free PDs.

 

Not a thing

 

I honestly don't think I could spend $400 each year. Up front I bought some things (staplers, hole punches, posters, etc.) that were a one time investment. But for perishable commodities (paper, pencil, markers, etc.) after you acquire the "one time" things, I think $200 or so is sufficient (imo,ymmv). Sorry to get off topic.

 

$500

 

My old school gave us $0 but we had a supply closet for glue, construction paper, Expos, etc...
New school gives us $200 but no supply closet. I'm finding $200 does not stretch far even shopping the best sales.

 

Same here. Occasionally there'll be a little extra money from a grant which the P will announce during our monthly staff meeting. She'll tell us to email our ideas for how the money should be spent to our grade level team leaders, then for the team leaders to email her.

Last year, our team leader did that and we never heard anymore about the grant nor did we receive the supplies requested.

Three months later one of our teammates was visiting the classroom of our P's favorite grade level (they're the Golden team who can do no wrong) and learned that each member of that team had been given 30 student sized laptops for their classroom. :|

 

We can get basic supplies like dry-erase markers, rubber bands, paperclips, etc. from the office any time (for teacher use only, though-we can't get student supplies from the office). We have a district print center, so we do not have to worry about paper or ink. We also have a teacher workroom with poster board, and construction paper. Students provide their own supplies, so we don't have to order that stuff.

Anything else has to be ordered in February for the following year. We're told to just get what we need to teach, but aren't given a specific limit. I think my items came to just over $100 last year. I ordered things like chart paper, magnetic tape, and a few math manipulatives.

 

Our department gets $600 to spend. We basically use the money to purchase classroom items or curricular supplies. My classroom magazine alone runs more than $200, so it really doesn't go far!

 

We submit a list and are told to keep the total below $75. If there isn't enough money to go around (usually after the office staff and favorite departments get theirs) then the treasurer will decide which items on your list are the most important.

We are allowed to order things throughout the year for labs that cannot be ordered through laboratory supply companies. But the dept. chair has to buy those things at his convenience. Which means I bought everything on my own every year.

 

our PTA offers grants each year where they'll reimburse items for your room up to $200.

 

At my previous school, we got $200. You had to choose from school catalogs, write a purchase order, and then submit it for approval. There were no reimbursements for anything you just went out and bought. At the school I just got hired at, we get $0. I'm dreading going school shopping next week....

 

Nothing. But our school supplies copy paper (I feel terrible for teachers who have to pay for their own copy paper), extra pencils for students (though not enough that I can avoid providing some of my own), and basic desk supplies like stapler, staples, paper clips, tape and such. But anything to add to the room as far as room decor, books, rugs, storage and so on is on us. I asked for some money after my first year at my school when my principal said my room could be more "cute" and was told there was no money for that. So yeah, we're all pretty much expected to have pretty looking rooms, but no money is given for it. Which is why it took me until my third year to finally jazz up my room a bit .

 

The state provides $250 for school supplies each year.

In addition, my district has a grant for $500 that each teacher can apply for. If the teacher has a good idea for a project, he or she will pretty much get the $500.

 

We receive a set amount per student (last year, it was $13 in the fall and then $8 in the late spring) to order consumables (paper, notebooks, pencils, art supplies, etc) and other materials we may want for our classrooms. We have catalogues to order from that have quite an extensive selection. Textbooks, math manipulatives, guided reading books and literature circle book sets come out of a separate budget line and are kept in central locations in the building for teachers to sign out.

I do need to spend money for classroom decor (if I choose to buy it), storage containers, etc., but the funds from the school go a long way in supplying the things my students need.

 

I got $300 last year, but I think that was only because I was the only teacher in my department. Next year when there are two of us, I'm positive they'll have us split that rather than giving us each our own $300. It sounds like a lot, but it's really not when you consider that I can't send out a supply list like the gen ed teachers get to. If they want every kid to have a binder, they put it on their supply list and parents will get them. If I want every kid to have a binder, that comes out of my money, and I had 50 students! Same for stuff like math manipulatives- they get theirs as part of their Every Day Math materials. If I want math manipulatives, it comes out of the budget. Everything I bought last year was very basic necessity stuff. We also had to submit a list to the district and they would buy it for us and send us the items, so there was a long wait time.

 

Same here. I usually buy a pencil sharpener and ink for my printer. It doesn't go far, but at least we get something.

 

We got $100 last year, in November or something. I was very thankful...but as a first year teacher I went out and bought bought bought before school even started because I was afraid of not having what I needed. It is nice going into my second year not having to buy AS MUCH, but it is still alot.

 

I was always surprised when I worked at a teacher store, and teachers would say things like, "I'd better save that receipt so I can get reimbursed!" They would spend hundreds of dollars, too!

One time I expressed my frustration to administration about how we had to order the $8 stapler from School Specialty when they were on sale for $2 at Walmart. My principal told me that it's a state law that school districts only purchase supplies from certain places. He said that most districts just reimburse teachers when they go out shopping, but it's actually illegal. His previous school district was caught, and had to pay a penalty. I don't know the specifics, but he said that our district does it the "legal way."

 

Interesting. Verrrry interesting...

 

Nothing.

We can request things, but we don't get a certain amount. I ordered about $250 worth of stuff over the summer.

 

I believe we get $250 for the year, and the secretary can split it up as my budget I order from, and the other part of reimbursable purchases. I can also submit a 'wish list' to my P, for bigger things, this year I haven't even done that.

 

Our classroom teachers this year got $200. Some years $150, some years $250. Depends on our parent/teacher group and if they have funds to donate. I am a reading teacher so I have a budget for materials and I rarely go without something I really need. I feel very fortunate. But yes, I still spend a lot of my own $!

 

Sounds a bit weird.

My mom works for the town government, and they have to order court supplies through specific vendors - basically whichever ones offer the lowest price and allow tax-free purchase orders.

But if they absolutely need some supply that they cannot wait for, they are allowed to go out and buy it, then the town will eventually reimburse them (My mom had to do this when they expanded the court without giving them any more space, she had to buy a card table for the public defender to use, as it was the only thing that could fit in the closet he was given).

 

We get $600 to buy anything we want and can also use that money to take short trips. We have to buy all curriculum materials but I do think it's a fair amount. If we want actual school supplies like pens, pencils, crayons, paper, glue, etc. we just order it from the supply closet and do not have to use our class money.

 

The "legal" way?Either it's just easier for the school to track expenses that way, like my old school who's business dept. was pretty lazy, or something is fishy with that arrangement. I was told at my old school that we HAD to do it that way but they never said it was a law. My new school is in the same state and county even but we don't have to do that and can go to any store as long as we get a receipt. It doesn't sound like something that can be a law. Maybe you can find out if it is then talk to administration again. I was pretty upset when I had to order something once from a catalog and spent $99 of my class money when the same thing at Staples was 29.99.

 

$0.

 

The PTA gives us $100, but any purchases have to be pre-approved by the principal, and honestly, I find it to be less of a headache to just take the money out of my own pocket.

 

We get nothing, but we can order supplies through the district as needed. I've never been told "no", but most of my yearly requests are usually $50-$75 worth of stuff. We never have to pay for copy paper, poster boards, glue, pencils, etc.