Teachers at Proviso Township High School District 209 were prepping for the return of students to their classrooms, which included finding ways to provide their own school supplies after the district lagged on requests.
“I can confidently say that we often exceed average spending to ensure our classrooms and overall experience align with the expectations of our students,” said Paula Struwing, health and driver’s education teacher at Proviso West High School.
However, Struwing recently spent $160 on a cell phone locker for her classroom after the board of education didn’t provide guidelines or funding to support a new policy, which required students to secure phones at the beginning of classes in Yondr pouches.
“A policy is only as effective as its implementation; without follow-through, it’s just well-intentioned paperwork,” Struwing said.
Struwing is not the only teacher in D209 spending money out of their own pockets.
A longtime teacher with the district who asked to remain anonymous, said in her years of teaching she has rarely asked the district to provide supplies, opting for frugality with what has been previously provided.
“I try to save my supplies from the year before because they are very hard to come by without using my own money,” she said.
While she said she usually doesn’t submit a list of supplies, this year she took a chance and made her requests by July 15. Almost a month later, the teacher said they had not been told if the requests were approved and they had little faith the supplies would be here in time for the start of school.
The list included colored pencils, markers, staplers, binders, and notecards.
“It is very hard to get those everyday supplies,” she said. “It comes out of my own pocket.”
Putting the responsibility of buying additional supplies on students would also not help solve the problem, she said.
“If I ask my students to bring notecards in, I will probably only get about 40% of my students who are compliant to that,” she said.
The teacher said past requests for specific items have taken too long to arrive and when they purchase the supplies themselves, they have got the “runaround” in terms of submitting their reimbursements.
“I just ended up paying for it myself,” she said.
According to Interim Supt. Alexander Aschoff, each building receives a budget for general and educational supplies.
“This budget is carefully managed by the school’s administration to ensure that all necessary materials are available to support effective teaching and learning,” Aschoff told the Forest Park Review on Aug. 21.
According to the adopted budget for the 2024 fiscal year, supplies and materials for the three high schools were allocated at $5,147,234. This budget was approved by the board of education in August 2023.
In the tentative budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which will be voted on in September, supplies and material expenditures for education are listed at $4,487,000.
Both teachers said the issue is heightened by the lack of communication and a direct chain of command in administration.
“We [previously] had department chairs who we saw everyday personally, I got things faster then, I felt like I could get what I needed,” the teacher said. “We don’t have department chairs anymore.”
The teacher said they have gone back and forth for a few weeks until they finally got a hold of “the power that be” to submit the orders.
While the teacher said she now tries to find deals and buys a lot of supplies at SCARCE, a resource center for teachers and non-profits in Addison, she has spent on average $400-$500 of her own money some years.
According to the National Education Association, educators spend between $500 and $750 of their own money every year on supplies that students need, ranging from pencils, markers and glue to learning programs and snacks for hungry kids.
Aschoff said teachers help identify the supplies needed in their classrooms then submit a request to school administration detailing the items needed. Administration then reviews requests — ensuring their alignment with the school’s budget and educational goals, Aschoff said.
Orders are made and “timely delivery” of the supplies is ensured, he said.
“This system allows our schools to efficiently manage resources while ensuring that teachers have access to the tools they need to succeed,” Aschoff said. “We are committed to supporting our educators in providing our students with the best possible education experience.”
Jessica Paulus-Piemonte, a social studies teacher at Proviso East, tries to get supplies on sale when back to school shopping for her own children in order to secure the supplies she knows she will need.
On average, Paulus-Piemonte said she used to spend about $500 on supplies per year but that amount has been decreasing through the years as she builds up her supplies stash.
“Every year you add to it a little bit,” she said.
Paulus-Piemonte said she knows this is the national expectation assigned to the teaching profession. According to the National Education Association, 90% of teachers spend their own money on supplies.
But new technology is slowly affecting the amount of supplies she needs to buy, Paulus-Piemonte said.
“Now that we have these Prometheus boards, I don’t have to spend money on that overhead projector paper which costs $50 a case,” she said. “I think technology has really helped us spend less money as well.”
With new administration coming into place with the expected appointment of a new superintendent by the end of September, educators remain hopeful for a new direction.
Paulus-Piemonte said ordering supplies and when they will be delivered “depends” on who is in charge.
“With the last administration it was ridiculous, we could not get anything,” she said. “But things are starting to turn around and be more positive in that way.”
Struwing said the district has a strong foundation and is lucky to have teachers and administration who are “dedicated” and willing to invest in students.
“Our BOE has some truly committed members, but we need all of them to invest in our students the way our staff does,” Struwing said.