How Much Wash. Teachers Spend Of Their Own Money On Supplies

SEATTLE, WA — Teachers in Washington are digging into their own pockets to buy school supplies, spending an average of $464 over the school year to subsidize local budgets, according to new inflation-adjusted data from the Economic Policy Institute.

On average, a teacher in America spends $459 on school supplies. According to the think-tank, an overwhelming majority of America’s teachers will not be reimbursed for these costs. In high-poverty school districts, teachers are often first responders when it comes to making sure students have what they need to succeed in the classroom.

The Economic Policy Institute’s data comes from a National Center for Education Statistics survey conducted for 2011-12 school year that broke down teacher spending by state. The EPI adjusted this data — which showed spending in 2011 dollars — for inflation to represent 2018 spending.

According to the inflation adjusted data, teachers in California spend the most on school supplies, an average of $664 that they are not reimbursed for. Washington teachers spent the second-most of the West Coast states.

Read more: King County this week voted on a plan to spend $318 million in education funding that comes from a Sound Transit fee paid by construction contractors.

In a blog post, the institute noted that the difference in spending in each state should not be taken to mean that teachers in some states are more generous than others. Rather, the EPI says the spending difference is due to a number of factors like school funding and cost of living.

Read about teacher spending by state via the Economic Policy Institute.