Connection: Demand For Supplies

Spokane teacher Mary Sue Morrison doesn’t think twice about the money she spends on her classroom.

“It costs, but it also helps the children,” said Morrison, who teaches a combination class of third- and fourth-graders at Stevens Elementary in Spokane.

During the school year, Morrison spends more than $2,000 on books, school supplies, classroom decorations and snacks for her students.

“Costco loves me,” said Morrison, who has been teaching for more than 30 years.

For several years, Morrison has run a school supplies store in her classroom. The children earn “meow bucks” from a variety of classroom jobs they “interview for,” she said.

“I have cats, so I stick with the cat theme,” Morrison said.

The students run and manage the store, and are given other jobs such as collecting assignments, returning them, and taking the attendance sheet to the principal’s office.

They trade in their meow bucks for pencils, folders, erasers and pretzels and other items.

Since a large percentage of the school’s students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, the supplies and snacks really help out, Morrison said.

“I like to teach them responsibility, and I believe it’s something they will carry with them the rest of their life,” she said.

Spokane School District 81 allocates $150 per teacher for supplies. This year, Stevens Elementary is offering its teachers another $150 out of the school’s budget.