My art can be found on Instagram #klonskyart.
As I reminded you on my last post, this begins my 11th years as a retired teacher.
I left the classroom in 2012.
That year I could take a $250 tax deduction for the out-of-pocket expenses I had as a K-5 Art teacher.
I spent way more than that of my own money for supplies.
In the Big Bill that Congress passed last week and sent to Biden to sign, the deduction was raised $50.
It was the first increase in the teacher tax deduction for supplies since 2002.
The first increase in twenty years.
$250 in 2002 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $411.72 today, an increase of $161.72 over 20 years.
This isn’t $50 more in teachers’ pockets. It’s a $50 tax deduction increase.
Congress should be so generous to Wall Street.
The average teacher will spend about $560 out of pocket on their classrooms this year; up from $511 last year. However, nearly one in four teachers say they’ll spend more than $750 of their own money during the 2022-23 school year.
On average, elementary school teachers receive about $11 per student from their schools’ budgets, but they spend an additional $33 out of pocket on each student.
One in four teachers said their schools didn’t allocate any funds for classroom items this year.
I think that survey grossly underestimates what teachers spend out of pocket.
I know it underestimates what I spent out-of-pocket for my Art room and that was a decade ago.
This year, thanks to sky-rocketing inflation teacher out-of-pocket costs will be crazy.
But Congress gave teachers a $50 tax deduction, the first increase in 20 years.