Having worked as a teacher for more than a decade, Amber Schlak has seen many changes. But something she never expected to see was the day when standard supplies like Post-it notes, Scotch tape and copy paper would become precious commodities.
Severe state budget cuts over the last several years have created that scenario not only at Schlak's school - Gale Elementary - but at others across the Tucson-area as well. Because of the increased need, many parents are being asked to donate items that stretch beyond a student's individual use to include supplies for the entire class or to fill the supply closet in the front office.
That's the case at Gale, where there is no budget for supplies.
"At one point we had $25 per student and over the years that decreased - last year we were down to $10 - but I don't recall a time where we've had nothing," said Paula Godfrey, who has served as principal at the school for 12 years.
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In the Tucson Unified School District, campuses are allocated budget points. Gale was given 15.38 points - 15 teachers cost one point each, so that didn't leave much to work with. Godfrey had to choose between buying supplies or applying the remainder of the budget to substitutes, custodial supplies and monitors.
She chose the latter.
"We are relying on the generosity of our parents and the supplies I was able to order last year," she said.
In reaching out to parents, she knows they may also be struggling financially. In a letter, she let parents know they shouldn't feel pressured to buy everything on the supply lists. Rather, they should only get what they can afford and what they can find on sale.
A parent herself, Schlak understands the situation all too well. In addition to buying supplies for her own two children, she spends as much as $500 at the beginning of the school year to ensure her kindergartners have what they need. It would be more, she said, if not for parents and community members who have responded with overwhelming support.
Supply and wish lists from Tucson-area schools this year include crayons, watercolors, markers, rolls of tape, staples, copy paper, index cards, ink pads, gift cards to office-supply stores, and empty ink cartridges, which some retailers exchange for school supplies.
One list for second-graders at Gale includes a heavy-duty electric pencil sharpener; another for third-graders asks for "hundreds" of sharpened yellow pencils.
"We are essentially asking for everything now," Schlak said. "Before all students needed to bring was a two-pocket folder and a notebook. When did we stop being able to supply basic essentials for the children? How is that not important to our state?"
For students in higher grades, the need is the same, but the requests are more specific. At Catalina Foothills High School, for example, science equipment and chemicals for experiments have made their way onto the lists, said Assistant Principal Laura Manning.
This year Leonida Littrell has two children in school - a daughter going into second grade and a son entering 10th grade. She already picked up the basics - paper, pencils, pens - but she expects to make a second trip once supply lists are handed out.
"When I was in high school, all I needed was one folder to get me through the entire year," she said. "Now each class requires different supplies."
For Diane Casarez, mother of a soon-to-be freshman, back-to-school shopping has been a hardship - her husband was out of work for some time until he recently got a new job.
"It seems to get rougher every year so we budget as much as we can, putting money aside little by little," Casarez said. "We do it because education is important to us, and we want our daughter to succeed."
Casarez also does what she can to help her two grandchildren with the supplies they need for school.
"It's hard, but we're seeing what supplies can be divided among the kids," she said. "They still need shoes so we'll likely need more money for that."
Strapped for cash, schools are not only turning to parents. Some have formed partnerships with businesses or organizations that are willing to help with supplies.
In the Sunnyside School District, for example, schools are not asking parents to bring anything more this year than they have in the past, said Monique Soria, a district spokeswoman.
"We're fortunate to have community partners who help to provide supplies for students so that we can ensure students have the materials they need in class," she said.
The Marana School District has formed similar relationships, said Coyote Trail Elementary School Principal Dan Johnson.
"I've seen teachers reducing their lists because they know families are in a crunch - many of them are parents and they don't want to automatically shift that burden," Johnson said. "It's not been an easy stretch, but what I'm finding in our district is that businesses are helping in those areas - that's been the silver lining."
One such example is a joint effort between Southern Arizona Walgreens and the nonprofit organization Tucson Values Teachers, which is hosting a two-week campaign dubbed Tucson Supplies Teachers.
The mission is to stock classrooms and prevent teachers from dipping into their own wallets for supplies. The goal for this year's drive is to collect $100,000 in supplies. Last year it pulled in $71,000 - up from $21,000 raised in 2009.
The drive has been kick-started by Community Finance Corporation, a Tucson-based nonprofit, which donated $25,000. Walgreens will match the donation by contributing $25,000 worth of supplies and an additional 1,560 packs of tissue.
Vantage West Credit Union has collected nearly 2,500 items to help local schools in partnership with Tucson Values Teachers, and Raytheon is launching a company-wide drive for supplies that will be donated to the Tucson Supplies Teachers campaign.
"These business partnerships have helped to fill the void that has been created," Johnson said. "I don't think they set out to help schools weather economic storms, but they've managed to give families and teachers access to needed supplies and make ends meet."
Wish lists
For Gale Elementary School second-graders, TUSD
• Individual supplies: one package of sharpened pencils, one pair of pointy scissors, two glue sticks, one backpack or tote bag, one 4-ounce bottle of Elmer's School Glue, one pocket folder with three brads, one handheld pencil sharpener with cover, two boxes of Crayola crayons, pencil slider box or zippered pencil case for colored pencils only, one box of addition and subtraction flash cards for homework, dry erase markers and eraser (clean white sock or felt square), one medium- to large-sized plastic school-supply box, two composition notebooks, two primary writing journals, one primary composition notebook with dotted lines, one ream all-purpose copy paper, permanent felt-tip markers (one fine, one regular), one package of erasers.
• Classroom supplies: construction paper, skinny crayons, disinfectant wipes, permanent felt-tip pens, straight pins, Post-it notes, index cards, white copy paper, tissues, hand sanitizer, liquid soap, one package brown paper lunch bags, clear tape refills, brads, heavy-duty electric pencil sharpener, colored copy paper, colored and/or black ink pads, glue sticks, poster board, paper towels, colored card stock, spray cleaner, wide-ruled notebook paper.
For Marana Middle School seventh-graders, Marana School District
• Individual supplies: four composition books, graph paper, colored pencils, loose-leaf lined notebook paper, three-ring binder, at least two folders with pockets, highlighters, pencils and pens, protractor, four-function calculator, at least two packs of index cards, one ream of printer paper. Other suggested supplies: scissors, small stapler, glue and flash drive.
• Classroom supplies: tissues, colored pencils/crayons, glue bottles, construction paper.
For a science course at Catalina Foothills High School, Catalina Foothills School District
• Individual supplies: composition book, flash drive (only if you already own one), mechanical or regular pencils with erasers and a sharpener, college-ruled paper, calculator, pocket folder or three-ring binder, highlighter, graphing paper, three empty and clean soda bottles, small house plant and fish.
FOR MORE INFO
For more information on the Tucson Supplies Teachers campaign, go to www.tucsonvaluesteachers.org
Contact reporter Alexis Huicochea at ahuicochea@azstarnet.com or 573-4175.
