The education-focused nonprofit Kids in Need Foundation surprised two Dallas ISD teachers on Wednesday with $1,000 each with which to buy school supplies for their classrooms.
The lucky recipients were pre-K teacher Laurie McKenzie and 5th-grade math teacher Katherine Turck, both educators at Anne Frank Elementary School in North Dallas.
Dallas is one of six cities in the United States, including New York City and Washington D.C., where teachers were awarded donations from the group, which is supported by funds from the Fox Corporation.
“I was super excited. There are so many things I can use this for the help of my students,” said Turck, speaking with Fox 4.
“I want to use it wisely, and I know they’re going to be really excited when those boxes come,” McKenzie added.
“We learn by playing, so [I plan to buy] a lot of playthings, kitchen items, kitchen tables, things used in the classroom, dress-up things, and building blocks. That’s how we learn in Pre-K,” she said.
Texas teachers often pay more out-of-pocket for school and classroom supplies than their peers in any other state in the country, per San Antonio Express-News.
During the 2022-2023 academic year, Texas educators were predicted to spend $298 million of their own money on supplies, according to a report by My eLearning World.
An internal poll conducted by the Texas State Teachers Association showed that teachers spent, on average, $846 out of pocket on supplies in the 2021-2022 school year.
For its part, Dallas Independent School District (DISD) appeared to allocate just 0.6% of its colossal $2.2 billion 2021–2022 academic year operating budget to “Instructional Resources and Media Svcs.” This category listed on the district’s Dallas ISD Facts Sheet is the only one resembling a classroom supplies allowance.
Adding insult to injury, the average teacher salary at DISD was only $63,900 that school year. Meanwhile, the district’s new superintendent, Stephanie Elizalde, makes a base salary of $338,000 annually, with taxpayer-funded incentive bonuses in her contract.
“School Leadership” expenses, such as Elizalde’s salary, cost Dallas taxpayers about $125 million that school year.