By: Hal C Clarke

More than 3,000 New York City public school teachers are turning to crowdfunding websites to cover basic classroom needs — even as the city Department of Education is projected to spend more than $42,000 per pupil this school year, the New York Post first reported.

According to the fundraising site Donors Choose, at least 3,385 teachers across the five boroughs are asking for help purchasing everything from pencils and copy paper to menstrual pads and warm clothing for students. Their requests total over $4.1 million as the academic year begins, the New York Post first reported.

One of them is Sherri Jackson, a fifth-grade teacher at KIPP All Middle School in Mott Haven, where 85% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. She told the New York Post that she routinely shells out her own money for essentials her students need. But this year, she’s seeking donations for bandages, deodorant, sanitary pads, and winter wear.

“I cannot go and be like, ‘Hey, Department of Education, I need Band-Aids and sanitary napkins,’ because my students are starting their cycles,” Jackson said. “They’ll look at me like, ‘That’s not important.’ But it is.”

Jackson added, “We have to pay for things out of pocket that are not being given to us. That’s why I rely on Donors Choose,” the New York Post first reported.

She isn’t alone. Erica Yonks, an art teacher at the High School for Law Advocacy and Community Justice on the Upper West Side, also has an online fundraiser for hygiene items and basic art supplies. Yonks told the New York Post that her school provides her just $400 to serve about 150 students — the equivalent of $3 per pupil.

“There’s no other profession where you’re expected to provide literally the basics that you need to do your job on your own — let alone what the kids need too,” Yonks said. “I need basic teacher stuff — highlighters, pens, pencils and copy paper — so it’s a battle of spending my budget on logistical teacher needs and the art stuff I want the kids to experience.”

DOE officials point out that teachers also receive reimbursements through the Teachers’ Choice program — last year set at $235 if receipts were submitted. But educators told the New York Post that the stipend barely makes a dent in what they actually spend throughout the year. The DOE has yet to announce the reimbursement amount for the coming school year.

Meanwhile, the Citizens Budget Commission projects the DOE will spend $42,168 per pupil in 2025 — up from last year’s $40,639, the New York Post first reported. Critics say it’s baffling that teachers still feel the need to fundraise despite such staggering figures.

“No teacher should have to fundraise for basic supplies,” said Manhattan Institute fellow Danyela Souza Egorov, blasting what she called the DOE’s “absurd” mismanagement. “It’s just another sign of the DOE’s incompetence in managing public funds,” she told the New York Post.

The DOE pushed back, insisting the city is investing heavily in public schools. A spokesperson said the agency is “proud to provide our schools with the resources they need to support their students and provide a world-class education, in addition to free school meals for every student, dedicated facilities teams that keep our schools clean, and school nurses equipped to step in when needed.”