Oklahoma teacher panhandles for money to buy classroom supplies

A teacher in Oklahoma is not letting school budget cuts get in the way of having proper supplies for her students.

An elementary school teacher in Oklahoma said in spite of earning a master’s degree and teaching since 1996, she just can’t afford the supplies she needs for her classroom. But in about seven minutes, she managed to make $55 – almost double she makes hourly in the classroom.

When legislators failed to pass a bill that would approve a salary increase for Oklahoma educators, Danks says she made a decision to ask the public for help.

Danks says each year she typically spends $2,000 to $3,000 of her $35,000 salary on materials for the classroom.

“I find I’m getting emotional talking about it”, she said.

State education budget cuts have forced Danks to pay for supplies with her own money, the station reported.

Oklahoma is not the only state facing a shrinking education budget. According to one survey the average annual salary of teachers in Oklahoma is $44,373, as opposed to $75,279 in NY.

She also urged people nationwide to donate to their local schools, saying that many teachers like herself are in similar situations. “We don’t want to call it that, but this kind of shows that it is”.