Bill would reimburse teachers who buy classroom supplies

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada teachers could soon get a reimbursement when they buy classroom supplies with their own money.

The Senate Education Committee is set to review SB133 on Tuesday. It would create the Teachers' School Supplies Reimbursement Account and allow teachers a reimbursement of up to $100 per year if they signed a form declaring they spent the money on school supplies for their students.

Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson said teachers often absorb the costs of their classrooms themselves, "and that's not right."

"Teachers are generally underpaid and underappreciated," said Roberson, a Henderson Republican.

The measure would cost the state $5 million over the next two years — a cost that Roberson said is appropriate.

The bill is sponsored by Roberson and fellow Republican senators Becky Harris, Greg Brower, Patricia Farley and Mark Lipparelli.

Union officials with the Nevada State Education Association submitted a letter of support for the bill, citing a study that found 99.5 percent of all public school teachers spend some of their personal money on teaching supplies.

The survey, conducted in 2012 and 2013, found that the average teacher spent $485 of his or her own money on school and teaching supplies, and 10 percent of respondents spent more than $1,000. It also found that parents are pitching in less of their money for schools supplies than they were a few years earlier.

Passing the bill "will be an important first step toward rectifying this funding disparity carried by Nevada's public school teachers," Nevada State Education Association President Ruben Murillo wrote.

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