TAMPA, Fla. (CW44 News At 10) – Teachers across Tampa Bay are struggling to buy classroom supplies and the culprit is inflation.
“It’s gotten to that point of teachers moving in with other teachers at a school here just so we can pay our own bills,” said Paige Suhay, Hillsborough County middle school teacher.
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“It is a little stressful just figuring out where the funds are going to come from,” said Kelly Martins, a first grade teacher in Pinellas County.
Teachers in the Tampa Bay Area are getting ready for the Fall semester and they’re finding school supplies are more expensive than years past
“This year it might be quite different, I might be sticking to 18 or 20 of things rather than buying 25 and making sure I have extras,” said Martins.
A big reason is inflation.
“With inflation being at the rate that it is right now number one we don’t know if our teacher assistance is going to reflect that inflation, and we are going to be getting a lot less for our dollar this year,” said Martins.
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Martins says the Pinellas County School District usually gives her around $300 for supplies, but she always ends up paying for more out of pocket.
“I think last year I spent about $418 dollars and that was my total, and then that doesn’t include the stuff I do through out the school year as well,” said Martins.
“Nobody understands how much that goes over. I average in a conservative year, $1,300 to $1,500,” said Suhay.
Suhay says she usually has to buy items people don’t think of.
“We have to buy our own brooms, dust pans. I bought non-slide, no slip rugs so they can wipe their feet,” said Suhay.
Now teachers are asking for donations to classrooms on social media.
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“I think the biggest thing that we need are books and rich texts for our students to read,” said Martins.
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