Public education’s price tag: What North Carolina teachers pay to teach

North Carolina teachers are shouldering the cost of education.

As the school year kicked off, first-grade teacher Sarah Lewis found herself doing more than preparing lesson plans. 

She tackled first-day jitters for her students with a book and “jitter juice,” a drink with fruit juice and the occasional food coloring or sprinkles. She surveyed her students’ home-brought supplies, many of which were holdovers from kindergarten, and made sure every child had what they needed. 

“You’ve really got to be creative with how you make sure everyone has the supplies they need just to be successful in the classroom,” Lewis said.

With a $150 budget a year from her local school system in Cabarrus County, to stock her classroom with supplies, buying items out-of-pocket for 15 children has become routine now in Lewis’ 18th year of teaching. 

Lewis said she spends about $1,000 of her own money on classroom supplies every year—a figure that is not uncommon among the state’s public school teachers, who, according to a recent survey, spend an average of $1,300 annually, despite also ranking among the lowest-paid in the nation.

Local school leaders tend to blame the state for that. North Carolina’s per-pupil spending hasn’t kept up with inflation, growth, and the need for newer materials. North Carolina’s spending on each student is about $3,000 behind the national average, and ranks 48th in the nation, according to the nonpartisan Education Law Center.

Frustrated by the growing financial strain, Lewis decided to take action. So, she sent her Amazon wishlist to 118 members of the North Carolina House of Representatives.

She heard back from just two. 

 

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Rep. Julie von Haefen, a Democrat from Wake County and substitute teacher, said she was moved by the directness of Lewis’ request and, though her own annual salary is just $14,000 as a lawmaker, bought an item on Lewis’ list. [Editor’s Note: the word “former” was removed as von Haefen is a current substitute teacher.]

“I thought it was a really great way to call attention to legislators about this issue, because a lot of legislators don’t have kids in school,” von Haefen said. “And so they might not actually be aware that teachers have these Amazon wishlists.” 

Von Haefen added that it’s upsetting knowing teachers have to spend so much out-of-pocket while no one asks other professionals to do the same.

“We’re not expecting firefighters to buy their own hoses,” von Haefen said. “We’re not expecting our police officers to buy their own cars. These are all things that people and professionals need to do their jobs, and it’s just really pathetic, honestly, to expect teachers to buy their own Clorox wipes to clean their classroom.”

In a social media post, von Haefen shared Lewis’ letter and received several questions about why the state government should be expected to fund public classrooms and education.

“Well, it’s because our state constitution guarantees that every child has a public education, and our Supreme Court has interpreted that to mean that every child has the right to a sound basic education,” she said.

Von Haefen is referring to the Leandro v. State case, a landmark lawsuit that began in 1997. During that year, five school districts from low-income counties in North Carolina and a group of families sued the state, argued that their schools lacked the necessary funding to provide a fair education for their children despite taxing residents at higher-than-average rates.

RELATED: The future of education in NC could be decided by the state Supreme Court

Over the years, with the most recent court order in 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that the state has a constitutional duty to provide such an education. Still, the Republican-majority state government has consistently fallen short of that requirement, which is why the Leandro case is still unresolved. 

To address these issues, von Haefen filed House Bill 510 last year, a proposal that would restore $82 million in public school funding that she said the state has failed to provide.

“Eighty-two million dollars in the grand scheme of our state budget is not a lot,” von Haefen said. “We know we have that money because the Republican majority wants to spend almost a half a billion dollars on private school vouchers.”

In 2023, the state budget allotted about $42 million for school supplies. Von Haefen said that the state now has to double that to get back up to where funding was when it worked for schools and families—around 2011.

 

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Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has also stepped in to offer his support. Over the summer, Cooper launched the Governor’s School Supply Drive, which encourages statewide donations to support teachers and students. 

“It’s unfortunate that teachers still have to dip into their own pockets to buy some of the school supplies for their classrooms, and this is a way all of us can help,” Cooper said. “Donating school supplies is a way to support the learning environment while giving our teachers the respect they deserve.”

But despite initiatives to fill the gaps, the basic issue—a Republican-led majority in the state legislature that continues to prioritize private school vouchers over increased public school funding—remains.

“I do feel like it is not near enough,” Lewis said. “If I had a state-funded classroom, I would have five tables and a bookshelf. So it’s not near enough.”

READ MORE: NC Democrats propose bill to halt private school voucher expansions

Increasing teacher compensation and overall funding is crucial to alleviating the burden, said Maurice “Mo” Green, a Democratic candidate for superintendent of public instruction in the state. 

“Teachers will always find something that they feel like is going to be extra special for every student,” Green said. “And so the likelihood is, even if we had all the money in the world, they would still find something extra. But that’s what it should be. It should be extra, not the kind of routine things that I would call ‘mandatory level’ of minimal resources that should be available for all students.”

Green advocates for a substantial boost in public school funding, stressing that basic resources should be provided by the state, not by the personal pocketbooks of educators.

“Teachers will always go above and beyond,” Green added. “But the routine supplies should not be part of their personal expenses.”

A problem like this, Green said, requires the advocacy of entire communities and the state on behalf of educators.

 

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As North Carolina continues to struggle with these challenges, the lack of support takes a toll on its educators, like Lewis.

“I just hope that you [reporters] speaking with teachers and representatives, just really help North Carolina fund the teachers in the schools the way they should be,” she said. “So [I’m] just hoping for something—nothing will happen if we don’t try.”