John Armato, director of community relations for Pottstown, said teachers like Groff have been put in the position of supplementing supplies in their classrooms because of a lack of state education funding in Pennsylvania. Armato said the Pottstown School District is underfunded by about $13.7 million when using the Pennsylvania Fair Funding Formula, which takes into account factors such as the number of special needs students and the number of low-income students.
"It's unfortunate that across our country we do not recognize the need to properly fund education," Armato said. "Our teachers, just like our community members, do the best they can to pick up that lost support."
Need the necessities
Joan Reigner, a first-grade teacher at Monocacy Elementary in the Daniel Boone School District, said she empathizes with Danks in Oklahoma.
"I really feel for her," Reigner said. "And I feel for the younger teachers who are just starting out and trying to pay the bills."
"I know times have been tight at Daniel Boone," she added. "But we (have) to get the necessities."
Reigner, who has been teaching for 25 years, spends her money on the extras, such as lap desks and other flexible seating options.
James Harris, Daniel Boone superintendent, said teachers who want to customize their rooms should discuss options with the school principal. He added that all supplies can be ordered through the district's supplier with no sales tax.
"I supplement what they do give me with more," Reigner explained. "But like name tags and incentive charts, I need. I use them a lot, but Daniel Boone's not going to buy them for me."
Harris said teachers should be able to order anything they need through the district supplier. He said sometimes style preference is one reason teachers shop out-of-pocket and outside the supplier.
"Sometimes they want things that are unique that they like," he said.
Reigner said she spends about $400 of her own money each year on supplies. When her son began college last fall, she planned to cut back on her classroom spending but still found herself picking up extra supplies on trips to the store.
"You never do a Target run just for you," she explained. "It's for you and the 25 kids in your life that year."
Budget cuts tie hands
Mary Firestone, a kindergarten teacher at Lorane Elementary School in the Exeter School District, also spends money out of her own pocket to provide for her classroom.
In Exeter, Firestone explained, teachers at each grade level gather and put in a combined bid for school supplies. Kindergarten teachers are then allotted about $100 to provide for their individual classroom needs. The Association of Parents and Teachers also provides a $50 gift card.
And while families receive a list of supplies to purchase themselves, children don't always come in with the correct materials. So Firestone makes sure she buys extra crayons and markers in addition to the organizational supplies and educational games she purchases. She will spend about $400 of her own money on supplies throughout the year.
"I still am grateful for the $100 that we have," she said. "It just doesn't cover what I need it to cover."
Dr. Robert Phillips, Exeter superintendent, also attributed the district's tight budget to a lack of state funding. He noted that buying supplies with their own money shows how much teachers care about their students.
"I think it's great and certainly beyond admirable that they do that with the budget the way (it is)," he said. "It's really difficult for the district to stretch."
When Firestone began teaching in Exeter 11 years ago, her classroom allotment was enough to cover all her supply needs at about $1,000 - 10 times more than what she receives now.
However, she noted that when she started teaching in Exeter, students also weren't given a supply list or expected to purchase anything. Firestone said decreasing classroom funding can be frustrating, but she understands the financial struggles the district faces.
"Their hands are tied in a way, too," she said of district officials, noting that school budget cuts are occurring across Berks County and beyond. While watching an episode of "Good Morning America," she learned of Danks' similar struggles in her district, Tulsa Public Schools in Oklahoma.
"I thought she was brilliant," Firestone said, adding she would definitely donate if she saw a teacher panhandling.
"Teachers are a special breed of people," she said. "You do what it takes to get the job done."