Teachers pay more out of pocket for their kids
 |
| File photo of school teacher Liza Gleason shopping for back to school supplies at a Target store August 13, 2008 in Daly City, California. Teachers are paying more of their own money for supplies and even clothes and food for schoolchildren. |
A second-year pre-kindergarten teacher at Salem Elementary School in Apex, N.C., Hannah Martin makes about $34,000 a year and in her spare time takes as many babysitting jobs as she can get.
Martin, who rents a room in a house she shares with four other women, said the work outside her classroom is necessary if her students are to have the school supplies they need.
"I only have $100 from the school for the whole year to buy supplies, and it's not enough," 23-year-old Martin said.
"I do the babysitting to help get money to buy toys and books," she said. "I even had to buy shelves and a stool for the kids to stand on to wash their hands at the sink. I spent about $500 on supplies last year, and It definitely hurts my own pocketbook."
With school budgets across the country slashed, Martin is part of a growing number of teachers spending more of their own money for school supplies, according to a recent survey from insurance firm Horace Mann, which focuses on products for educators.
(Read more: Six college courses that help grads land jobs)
The problem has reached near-crisis levels, especially in states like North Carolina.
"We're letting our teachers know how rough the situation is," said Eric Moore, a fiscal accountant at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. "We've only got about 35 percent of our past