Free school supply store opening as teachers feeling impact from inflation

Wake County teachers will have access to free school supplies starting Tuesday. Tools4Schools - an initiative through Wake Ed Partnership - opens its doors after 11 a.m. at its new location on 1816 Capital Blvd., near the Food Bank.

Staff members, including partnership president Keith Poston, have been preparing for this moment by tidying up and stocking shelves with supplies ranging from earbuds to clipboards, dry-erase boards and pens.

While Poston is excited to welcome teachers to the free store at this new location, he’s also disheartened that something like this has to exist.

"Teachers shouldn’t have to have a place like this," said Poston, president of the Wake Ed Partnership. "But they just don’t get the amount of school supplies funding that they should so they have to go out and buy their own supplies for the classroom."

When the partnership surveyed educators about four years ago, they estimated spending between $500 and $600 of their own money on supplies annually. Now, it’s more than $900 a year.

Poston says they’re serving more people than before. This school year, just in the fall, more than 4,500 teachers accessed the store – eclipsing the number of teachers they helped out all of last year.

"Even though inflation has gone down some, these consumable items, like paper and stuff, have stayed very high," Poston said. "The teachers are having to spend more [to] get the same amount of supplies."

Inflation isn’t only affecting how much they spend but also how far they can stretch their salaries.

During the 2015-2016 school year, the starting salary for a Wake County teacher was a little over $41,000. Now, it sits at around $46,000. While that might look like a good raise on paper, the value of a dollar isn’t the same. Looking at the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator, $41,000 would be equivalent to $53,000 now -- a difference of $7,000. What's more, the $46,000 teachers are making now is $35,000 in 2015 terms.

Instead of a raise, it’s a loss of almost 15%.

With that, Poston isn't surprised that the non-profit serves more people than before. This school year -- just in the fall -- more than 4,500 teachers accessed the store, eclipsing the number of teachers they helped out all of last year.

"Add insult to injury - you’re making less real dollars than you were 10 years ago, and oh, by the way, you need to buy your own supplies too," said Poston.

He's a product of North Carolina public schools. His mom was a teacher's aide, while his sister became an educator.

His passion for education lies in his belief that education is the foundation of success.

"The one career that every other career depends on is a teacher," he said.

And he feels supporting educators means helping everyone in the state succeed.