Majority of Teachers Use Their Own Cash for School Supplies

Nearly nine in 10 teachers surveyed have used their own money to pay for classroom supplies, according to a study by RetailMeNot.com and Kelton.

The study surveyed 325 K-12 teachers in the U.S. at the end of May. A main goal of the study is to increase awareness of the impact that nationwide cuts have on education funding. The survey’s margin-of-error is 5.4 percentage points.

Forty-five percent of teachers in public and private schools who have spent their own money on school supplies would be willing to spend more than $100 in a school year, the study found. Public school teachers were the most willing to spend more than $100 on school supplies.

Teachers were also willing to make sacrifices in their own personal lives to buy supplies for their students.