Show me the money

Wealth and Poverty | Very little of the thousands spent per pupil in New York City actually makes it to the classroom | Alisa Harris

Richard B. Levine/Showcase Pix/Newscom

Kay, a New York City public-school teacher, and her six disabled students get one box of Kleenex every two months. In a state that is running a deficit to spend $14,884 to educate each pupil, Kay's school still has to ration paper towels, cleaning wipes, and soap. "I have some broken crayons, lots of construction paper, and they give out glue and markers," Kay said. "But that's about the extent of it."

"Kay," who was granted permission by WORLD not to use her real name for her fear of retribution, teaches severely disabled middle-schoolers in a low-income district. When she walked into her classroom for the first time two years ago, most of what she found was useless: "I inherited an assortment of books that were completely inappropriate for the students that I teach, some broken toys, and supplies from the 1960s." She found she'd have to spend about $900 to $1,000 of her own money each year—less than some teachers but far more than the $150 the Department of Education allots her for supplies.