My kid's school sends out a list of supplies needed before each school year and another list mid-year. Parents are encouraged to buy extras for the kids that can't afford it (many do). When it is all said and done, that the teachers spend very little, if any, out of their own pocket.

This is only one school, but I would be surprised if others don't do it.

Mostly, the parents. I have not, nor ever will rely on anyone else to "educate" my children. And I live in one of the best school districts in our state.

We do the same, and I always ask if there are any deficiencies in any of their supplies, I help when I can. I know some parents do scrape to get by.

Just so you know MPS teachers made no concessions and did not receive a decrease in salary or an increase in any of their own personal contribution. They contribute zero towards their pension or healthcare. They rushed their contracts thru so they could do this and then cried and blamed Walker when he cut their budget.

The problem is with the parents not the teachers. The parents need to take responsibility for their children and not treat our educational system as just free daycare until their child turns 18. The reason we don't get high quality teachers is the union system of seniority etc. There is no financial motivation for a teacher to do better than their peers and the guy who turns on the movie projector every day gets paid the same as the teacher who puts in 10-12 hours. The system is broken and WI is trying to change that.

No, I'm talking about all the classroom supplies teachers purchase themselves: stuff they put on the bulletin boards, ancillary supplies, overheads, etc.

The school only supplies teachers with an empty classroom, empty walls, and books.

This is a very broad statement and is not true in all schools, but why let the facts get in the way

That is a very broad statement, and that is generally true for all the school districts I have lived within in five states. Teachers generally are dedicated enough to pay alot out of pocket for classroom supplies and extras.

Go ahead, please, and post the facts that counter: lists of what the school pays for in the classroom.

You stated that the schools only pay for the walls and books. This is simply untrue in every state. That is all I am saying. Many districts reimburse teachers for supplies and some supply a lot of the items that they need. Your statement says that no school supplies a teacher with anything other than the classroom itself and the books.

I was just pointing out that you make broad untrue statements. Kind of like earlier in this thread where you claimed that MPS teachers already made concessions which is simply untrue.

So post the facts that you have. Just saying it's a fact doesn't make it so. You accuse me of that, yet you've never posted facts to back up any of your claims. Do as you say.

The facts are in some local area school districts in WI (i.e brookfield, west allis, etc.) the teachers are reimbursed for any supplies that they need within reason. Why do I know this? Well first 2 of my good friends wives work in these school district and my mom was a special education teacher for 40+ yrs. You stated that the teachers themselves pay for everything and the schools pay for nothing. How about the all the continuing education that they are reimbursed for? However in the private sector many of us including myself pay for things to do our jobs effectively.

So what? The private sector has nothing to do with the public. The public is what we have gotten together and agreed to pay for our common interests. From the first town out on the prairie that agreed to send east for a school marm to teach the kids.

You get what you pay for. If you are not getting what you have paid for (which is alot of what you don't like about unions) you change it.

Then you have people like who think that the getting together and paying as a group, forcing everyone in the town to contribute, is abusive or wrong. I think it goes towards the common good. I don't have children, but have always wanted to pay school taxes. It makes my town better, it makes my country better, to have children well-eduated.

Those folks that think differently then should leave society, and the social responsibilities and requirements of living and cohabitating in a "society", and go live alone.