After a survey revealed that teachers at Gordon H. Beatty Elementary School spent about $25 a month out of their own pockets to buy supplies, administrators started searching for ways to pick up the tab.
As a solution, the school this month officially started an adopt-a-classroom program that asks local businesses to pay for basic supplies so teachers will not have to.
"When we figured it out, some teachers spent as much as $500 a year," Principal George Cottrell said. "We have some very dedicated teachers."
Although the school starts out with money for items like stickers and other motivational devices, it quickly uses up those funds, leaving the teachers no alternative but to spend their own money, Cottrell said.
Faced with a dwindling budget, school officials knew they had to come up with some creative financing to bridge the gap, so they turned to sources outside the district. Under the plan, local businesses are invited to adopt a classroom for $50 a year.
The money will be used to buy colored pencils, construction paper and similar items that have become luxuries in many schools.
