Weeks before the first day of school, teachers across Mississippi say state leaders have made it more difficult for them to access money for classroom supplies.
Educators have to complete training before they鈥檙e able to spend the money the state gives them for classroom supplies, but teachers say the live training has been hard to access 鈥� the online meetings have been filled to capacity. Teachers also say that to buy from local vendors, they now have to go through an arduous reimbursement process.
The money for teachers鈥� classroom supplies comes from the Education Enhancement Fund, or procurement card program. EEF, established in 2012, gives every K-12 public school teacher $748 鈥� around $25 million in total 鈥� to buy supplies for their classrooms. But educators have long said they get the money too late for it to be useful. A report released last year by State Auditor Shad White鈥檚 office found that a bulk of the money is as they prepare their classrooms because of the state-mandated Aug. 1 deadline to activate the cards.
This year, Mississippi Department of Education leaders said they wanted to by giving districts access to the money on July 15 and switching from physical cards to a digital wallet platform.
The agency has a one-year $573,000 contract with the platform ClassWallet, according to Shanderia Minor, a spokesperson for the state Education Department.
The new platform is used in several states and allows teachers to purchase supplies directly from online, pre-approved vendors. State Superintendent Lance Evans said ClassWallet streamlines the process of buying classroom supplies, and the change reflects input from school district leaders across Mississippi.
One frustration for teachers is that many of the vendors they buy supplies from are , where teachers can spend their EEF money.
According to the state Education Department鈥檚 website, five Mississippi-based vendors are approved for teacher reimbursements, as are Walmart and TeachersPayTeachers, an online marketplace for classroom supplies.
But teachers then have to spend their own money upfront. Additionally, their purchase must be approved before they can be reimbursed.
If teachers want to buy from local vendors not included on that list, the state Department of Education must first contact that vendor to ensure they鈥檒l give teachers itemized receipts and that the items will be tax exempt. Then the vendor will be added to the list, and teachers can submit reimbursement requests through ClassWallet.
Because of the administrative burden, educators are concerned they鈥檒l have to wait weeks to get their money back.
鈥淭he words I鈥檝e heard are 鈥榠nsane,鈥� 鈥榗umbersome,鈥� and 鈥榝rustrating,鈥欌�� said Kelly Riley, executive director of Mississippi Professional Educators. Riley said she鈥檚 received numerous emails from educators across the state who are confused by the new process and annoyed by the extra layers of bureaucracy. 鈥淭here鈥檚 just a lot of unknowns at this point.鈥�
White鈥檚 office on social media Tuesday that the education agency has 鈥渕isinformed the public鈥� about the program and called on the state Education Department to rectify issues with the new process.
鈥淭eachers will again, through no fault of their own, have to spend their own funds to get classroom supplies while they鈥檙e forced to navigate through bureaucratic hoops to get the money promised to them,鈥� the statement reads. 鈥淭his should not be complicated.鈥�
State Education Department officials say they鈥檝e been communicating with districts for months, but some teachers say the change has caught them by surprise. Additionally, educators must first attend or watch one of five scheduled this month before their district can activate their accounts.
Many teachers say they were unable to access the first training on July 13.
Marie Lane, a longtime special education teacher in north Mississippi, was one of those teachers waiting for the Zoom meeting to start on Monday.
鈥淎t 8:40 a.m., I had my notebook out, my laptop plugging in, all excited,鈥� she said. But as the 9 a.m. meeting started, Lane was still waiting to get in. She got a message a few minutes later that the webinar had reached capacity.
Lane hopes she can get into one of the other meetings. She鈥檚 been gleaning what she can from other educators on social media. That鈥檚 how Lane realized how much the state was paying ClassWallet to administer the EEF program.
鈥淭hat really grates on my last nerve,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 money that could be spent in the classrooms for these kids.鈥�
She鈥檚 doubtful she鈥檒l get what she needs for her class 鈥� such as cups for paint to make learning more accessible for her students, a walkie-talkie to communicate with her assistant teacher, dim lamps for her students with sensory needs 鈥� before the first day of school on Aug. 3.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no way at this point I鈥檒l be able to submit a list and get it by the time students are back,鈥� she said. 鈥淟ots of times when you鈥檙e teaching and someone isn鈥檛 getting what we鈥檙e doing, you think, 鈥業f I could run to Walmart real quick for Play-Doh or beads, I could help them.鈥� But now, if we don鈥檛 want to spend our own money, we鈥檙e going to have to place an order, wait for it to be accepted and delivered.鈥�
Lane plans to use the money she鈥檚 gotten from a recent yard sale and selling items on Facebook to buy the supplies she needs.
鈥淲e as teachers have enough on our plate,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or special education teachers like me, it鈥檚 still required that our students meet certain standards. Meeting those without the supplies we need is going to be really tough.鈥�
Riley said that鈥檚 a frustration being voiced by educators across the state. They鈥檙e also concerned about the platform鈥檚 vendor list, she said, which includes about 50 homeschool-centric vendors.
ClassWallet鈥檚 website promotes and includes testimonials from homeschoolers and education savings account recipients across the country.
Jean Cook, a spokesperson for the state education agency, said the homeschool vendors are included on ClassWallet鈥檚 list because the platform operates across the country. The Mississippi-specific vendor list will be updated weekly, according to the agency鈥檚 website.
A released by the education agency on Monday notes, 鈥淢any other states do not have programs like Mississippi鈥檚 that give teachers money to buy supplemental instructional materials for their individual classrooms.鈥�
David Bates, a former teacher, is the owner of one of the Mississippi-approved vendors 鈥� Old School Learning Depot in Pascagoula. His business provides tutoring services for students after school and sells classroom supplies for teachers. In past years, Bates drove a bus packed with supplies to local schools, allowing teachers to buy in-person with their EEF cards without leaving school property.
But now, he estimates that the new process will result in a $60,000 loss in revenue for his business because teachers will want to avoid spending their own money.
鈥淔or a mom-and-pop shop, that is a pretty big chunk of money,鈥� he said.
鈥淚鈥檓 not combating change,鈥� Bates said. 鈥淚 just want the opportunity to be part of the change. I鈥檓 frustrated about last-minute rollout and last-minute communication about how to make this work for everyone.鈥�
Keyana Hawthorne, an English teacher at Murrah High School in Jackson, was initially skeptical about the agency switching to ClassWallet. Now, she said she hates that she was right.
Hawthorne plans to attend a training on July 28, which she said conflicts with the professional development she receives in the days leading up to school. Her students return July 29.
As a result, all of her classroom supplies will come out of her own pocket this year, Hawthorne said. She鈥檚 planning to buy them in increments because she can鈥檛 afford to buy everything in one go. With two children of her own to buy school supplies for, Hawthorne said she鈥檚 overwhelmed, frustrated and disappointed.
鈥淭his is pulling from my little budget, and it makes me question: How are we supposed to survive over here?鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 so frustrated right now. This is what happens when teachers aren鈥檛 asked to sit at the tables where crucial decisions are being made.鈥�
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