Teachers spend own money on supplies

Summer breaks are wrapping up and Mirel Mejia is about to start her first year teaching third grade at Lincoln Elementary School in Salinas. But before giving the first lesson, she’s getting one.

“I thought the school would provide for everything that you need for the classroom. But then I start noticing that if I really want to be the best teacher that I possibly can, I have to have the resources,” Mejia said. “I think it’s just overwhelming because having to buy a lot of things and I don’t know what to buy.”

The Monterey County Office of Education said schools provide basic supplies, but without the magic touch of a teacher, a classroom wouldn’t look very interesting.

“You would see the gray walls ready with nothing on them. You would see the cabinets with, again, nothing on them. You wouldn’t see carpets. You wouldn’t see any other seating other than the typical desks and chairs,” said Pamela Conner, fourth-grade teacher at Boronda Meadows School.

From the navy carpet to the stack of funky stools, the things that bring her classroom to life were bought with her own money. And dozens of teachers are doing the same thing she did.

“So far, my guess is it’s probably around $300,” said Mary Larsen, who teaches at Sherwood Elementary School.

“On a typical year, I go anywhere between $500 and $700,” said Oscar Ramos, a third-grade teacher at Sherwood Elementary.

Many teachers said they do this is to make sure all their students feel equal.

“Our parents are mostly parents that work out in the Ag fields. So they have to think, “Well, do I spend this much on school supplies and field trips, or do I spend this much on food?’,” Ramos said. “Sometimes, well, you know, it’s not even a question. They have to feed their children. And we get that. That’s why it hurts the pocket a little bit, but we absorb the cost.”

Mariphil Romanow-Cole, assistant superintendent with the Monterey County Office of Education, said teachers have to shoulder some of the cost because of cutbacks from the recession.

“Is it fair? I’m just going to answer bluntly to that: no. I feel that education is underfunded,” said Romanow-Cole.

And wherever there’s a money gap, these teachers fill it up.

“I think, in the heart of a teacher, it’s always a person who’s going to want to give to their kids,” Conner said.