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Teachers spend average of $500 of their own money on school supplies, study says

The study found nearly all teachers pay for school supplies out of their own pockets.

WASHINGTON - A new study from The National Center for Education Statistics found that 94 percent of teachers pay for classroom supplies out of their own pockets, spending an average of $479 a year.

Six percent of teachers spent more than $1,000 on school supplies each year. It can be toughest on new teachers right out of school.

The average new teacher right out of college in Prince George's County makes $47,000. In Fairfax, the salary is $48,000 and in D.C. it's $55,000.

In order to ease the financial burden, many teachers are turning to the internet.

Sites like DonorsChoose.org function like GoFundMe. Teachers ask the public to fund specific projects.

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Ms. Jennifer Fitzpatrick works at Amidon Bowen Elementary School, in a low-income area of Southwest D.C. She has raised more than $30,000 for classroom projects and food to feed her students.

"I just want my students to be happy and focus on learning," said Fitzpatrick.

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The fight over teachers spending their own money on supplies went all the way to Congress, where 15 years ago, a tax break was passed. Over the years, there has been fighting back and forth about this, but now there is a new proposal being considered that would double the tax break teachers get, making it a $500 deduction.

It is in the reconciliation phase.

To help fund a teacher's project in a local school, visit donorschoose.org.

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