TEACHER SPENDING
NSSEA Study Finds Nearly All
Teachers Spend Their Own
Money on Classroom Supplies
By Cynthia Perry | Perry Research Professionals
I
t is estimated that public school
teachers spent $3.2 billion in educational products in the 2012-2013
school year, $1.6 billion of it from their
own pockets. These estimates are according to the recently-released NSSEA Retail
Market Awareness Study. This study, conducted by Perry Research Professionals
this spring, reports on teachers’ knowledge of parent-teacher stores, including
their spending patterns, funding sources,
shopping preferences, and factors that influence their purchasing decisions.
Email surveys were completed by almost 400 teachers in a random sample of
public K-12 teachers (split approximately
evenly between grades). This survey was
previously conducted in 2004, 2006, 2008
and 2010 and findings were compared
where applicable.
On average, teachers surveyed said
they spent a total of $268 on school supplies in the 2012-2013 school year, $491
on instructional materials and an additional $186 on other classroom supplies.
This means, on average, these teachers
spent $945 on materials for their classrooms during the 2012-2013 school year.
Spending by Channel
The 2013 study shows that when
teachers spend their own money on items
for the classroom, they are most likely to
shop at discount stores. Parent-teacher
stores and online purchasing have about
equal “share of wallet” in this study.
On average, teachers spend 54 percent of their own money at discount
stores (up from 30 percent in 2006 and
40 percent in 2008) and 26 percent
at parent-teacher stores (down from 29
24 NSSEA essentials | SUMMER 2013
Average Spending at Parent-Teacher Stores
(Among Those Who Shop at These Stores)
2012-2013
2009-2010
2007-2008
2005-2006
2001-2005
2000-2001
$0
$100
$200
$300
percent in 2008). Online spending has
increased from 11 percent in the 2010
study to 16 percent in this study.
Fewer Parents Required To Supply
Classroom Items
It seems states could be experiencing a legal backlash to an earlier trend
of requiring parents to supply items for
classrooms to help make up for funding
shortfalls. Arizona, California and Michigan, for example, have all passed laws
forbidding students to be required to
bring items for classrooms.
In the 2013 study, twenty-five percent of teachers responded that parents
are required to purchase classroom materials; this is down from 47 percent in
the 2010 study when this question was
first asked (the difference is statistically significant). In some states with laws
against required materials, and even in
states where teachers can require materi-
$400
$500
$600
$700
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