Data shows that nearly 95% of public K-12 teachers spend their own money on basic supplies, averaging roughly $580 out of pocket.
But as Angela Morabito, senior fellow at Independent Women's Forum and director of media outreach at the Defense of Freedom Institute, points out, school districts aren't running short on funding—they are spending it in the wrong places.
"Every time a public school teacher is saying, 'I need more donated supplies,' or every time a public school teacher has to dip into their own pocket to fund really basic things for a classroom, that is a failure of leadership at the school district level," Morabito asserts.
She explains that school districts average over $16,000 in funding per student each year. For a class of 20 students, that is more than $325,000 flowing to a single classroom.
Teacher salaries and facilities account for a portion of that, but millions of taxpayer dollars nationwide are funneled into growing district administration.
Highlighting how administrative bloat and niche positions drain funds away from core classroom needs, Morabito says districts have more than enough money; they just spend it in the wrong ways.
Milwaukee Public Schools, for example, has have four gender administrators. Jefferson County in Louisville, Kentucky, pays a dozen equity administrators more than $100,000 a year.
"Meanwhile, the local kindergarten teacher is having to beg for glue sticks and construction paper and colored pencils," Morabito notes. "It's a total mismatch of priorities."
She emphasizes that this is an issue for all taxpayers.
"Even if you are not a parent, or you're a homeschool parent, a private school parent, maybe your kids are graduated from the public schools, your tax dollars are still in play here," she says. "And as a taxpayer, I think everybody, regardless of how you vote or how you think about major issues of the day, we all want classrooms to run well. That's in everybody's best interest."
A related article from Morabito can be found on the Daily Wire website.
