State budget deal costs teachers money

By: TIM MAYER - Staff Writer | Sunday, October 17, 2004 12:16 AM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ---- Teachers watching this summer's state budget battle and listening to political promises probably should have been keeping a closer eye on their own wallets.

A deal hammered out between the state Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to gain approval of a new state budget included a little noticed provision eliminating an income tax credit to teachers for what they spend out of their own pockets for classroom supplies.

The credit of up to $1,500 per year, in effect since 2000, will be suspended at least for the 2004 and 2005 tax years, said Tom Conry, a Vista Unified School District teacher who is on the board of the 335,000-member California Teachers Association.

State officials have estimated that the tax break, known as the Teacher Retention Tax Credit, cost California about $180 million in revenue in 2003.

Conry said the loss of the tax credit amounts to a tax hike for teachers.

He said it's ironic that with "all the discussion coming out of Sacramento about how they could perform miracles, closing the (state) deficit without raising taxes ... they chose one group of citizens in California (teachers) and raised taxes on them."

Conry said news of the tax credit loss is just now trickling down to teachers who regularly have forked out hundreds of dollars for classroom "extras" for everything from marking pens and science projects, to books, computers, software, binders, colorful posters and more to help their students learn.

"The extra stuff oftentimes is what makes learning fun for students," he said. "If you eliminate the joy of learning, it really has a negative impact."

Officials with the National Education Association estimate that teachers nationally cough up more than $400 a year for their students, while the California Teachers Association estimated the state average at $430.

In Carlsbad Unified School District, the average is much, much higher, said Laura Bowen, president of the Carlsbad Unified Teachers Association. She estimated that teachers spend between $1,000 and $3,000 annually for supplies.

Bowen, a seventh-grade life sciences teacher at Calavera Hills Middle School, said she regularly spends about $2,000 per year for materials for science demonstrations, extra books, "different types of programs to go along with what the school district provides."

She said she also buys items to reward students for their work ---- stickers, pencils, "little freebee items."

Why?

"The district provides the basics, but most teachers go that extra mile to provide a more enjoyable environment and incentives for learning," she said.

Strong support

Devin Vodicka, principal of Calavera Hills middle and elementary schools, said Carlsbad is lucky because of the strong support schools and teachers receive from parents, PTAs and nonprofit organizations such as the Carlsbad Educational Foundation.

At least, the schools don't run out of toilet paper, said Vodicka, as happened to him while an elementary teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

"We had a year up there when we ran out of toilet paper," he said. "We didn't have things like glue. I started one year without pencils."

But support by PTAs, parents and other organizations are already stretched so far ---- providing art, music, physical education, and other programs schools can't afford ---- there's not much room to do more, said Vodicka and parents.

At many schools, the PTAs provide a yearly allowance per classroom to help teachers fill the gap ---- $150 at Aviara Oaks Elementary School.

But compared to what the average teacher spends, "that's a drop in the bucket," said Susie Murphy, fund-raising chairwoman for the Aviara Oaks parent organization.

The loss of the tax credit "is terrible," Murphy said. "They need that tax credit. They do spend a lot of their own money, and we can only reimburse them so much."

Net results

Will the extra taxes make teachers spend less?

Bowen said the answer is probably "yes" because with budget cuts, the lack of significant raises (a half-percent in Carlsbad Unified this year), the increasing costs of health benefits, and the increasing cost of living ---- teachers are going to have to look to their personal finances.

Over in Room 402 at Aviara Oaks, the kindergarten classroom is brightly decorated with shelves, toys and much, much more provided by teachers Leslie Wright and Beth Thomason.

Books read daily to the kids are bought by Thomason and Wright, who share the room, as are books on tape, scissors and glitter and cotton balls and Popsicle sticks for art projects. The school provides paper and glue.

Wright guessed she spends between $500 and $1,000 over what the PTA provides ---- down from $2,500 her first year teaching four years ago. Thomason said she'd guess her spending at $1,000 to $1,500.

Will they cut back in spending?

"Probably not, because I don't want to sacrifice the learning and enjoyment for the students," Wright said.

"It does hurt," Thomason said. "Especially since I'm still going to buy these things. I'm going to take the hit on this. I'm not going to take it away from the kids."

They worry that other teachers will cut back because of economic conditions, or "because they feel they shouldn't have to spend their own money," Thomason said. "Any other job, you are not expected to spend your own money to do your job. It's a principle. If I give to a charity, I can write it off. How is this any different if I give to my students?"

Aggravating the situation is that Carlsbad Unified and other districts up and down the state have had to cut millions from budgets over the past three to four years because of the state budget crisis and deficits.

For instance, besides cutting out an elementary classroom music program, Carlsbad ordered a 5 percent budget cut for each department and school each of the past two years. Some of those cutbacks were to school supplies, field trips, after school activities, said Kelli Moors, the district board president.

"It's unfortunate to hear our governor talk about putting a high priority on education, and yet taking an incentive away from teachers," she said. "I don't think it's really a big difference in the state's budget ... and it would help a tremendous number of teachers."

Contact staff writer Tim Mayer at (760) 901-4043 or tmayer@nctimes.com.