Report Shows How Much Teachers Pay for Classroom Supplies

The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) is citing a recent study that puts a number on the rising financial responsibility put on North Carolina teachers entering the 2025-26 school year.

A Wednesday press release from the organization pointed to a July report from coupon platform CouponBirds that found NC educators are spending an average of $1,632 out of pocket to pay for classroom supplies, a 22% increase from last year and the second highest amount in the nation — just $5 behind Pennsylvania.

NCAE, a public school employees union and the largest association of professional educators in North Carolina, pointed out that teachers across the state are facing these rising out-of-pocket costs at a time when pay remains stagnant. 

“Our educators constantly go above and beyond for the children of North Carolina,” NCAE President Tamika Walker Kelly stated in the release. “This report shows how despite not being paid a respectable wage that they deserve, that they are still willing to do whatever it takes to ensure their students are successful.”

The report found that 95% of educators use their own money to purchase classroom materials including school supplies, classroom decor, educational aids, snacks, cleaning supplies and first aid supplies.

According to the release, 82% of teachers said their classrooms would suffer without these out-of-pocket contributions.

Parents are also facing inflationary costs, expected to pay $1,073 per child on back-to-school expenses, a 6% increase from last year.

The Economic Policy Institute reported in September 2024 that teachers earned 73 cents for every dollar made by similarly educated professionals in 2023, compared to almost 94 cents on the dollar in 1996.

Due to these rising costs, 30% of teachers and 31% of parents reported taking on a second job or additional income streams to make up for educational and classroom expenses.

“No one should have to take on a second job to make ends meet and our teachers shouldn’t have to do the same to make sure their classrooms have what they need,” Kelly said.

The NC House Fiscal Year 2025-2027 budget proposal included an 8.7% pay increase for teachers, including higher raises for beginner teachers. The Senate’s FY 2025-2026 budget proposal included a 2.3% pay increase.

Because the House and Senate delayed agreement on the FY 2025-2027 budget, which was scheduled to go into effect July 1, the NC General Assembly instead adopted a continuing budget resolution to address essential government funding.

While the “mini-budget,” as it’s called, does not raise NC teacher’s salaries, it does fund step increases — salary increases based on level of experience — for teachers, principals and other school staff on salary schedules. 

This will allow teachers and other state employees on a salary schedule to be paid at the level of the 2024-2025 budget but will make adjustments based on their current level of experience, EdNC reported.

“It’s not everything we wanted. It’s not everything they wanted. It is a compromise,” said Republican NC Sen. Brent Jackson, as reported by EdNC. “But these things that we have narrowed it down to address the pressures that we know, at this moment, that without these adjustments there would be major problems come here shortly in a few weeks, for our agencies and for a lot of North Carolina citizens.”