It’s back-to-school season in Kentucky, and students across the Commonwealth are settling into decorated classrooms, getting syllabi for the year on organized papers, and using borrowed pencils and fresh, new expo markers. Most students are too busy stressing over a brand-new school year to consider what is happening behind the scenes: Educators are dealing with twice the workload and triple the stress. 

This year has proven to be especially hard on teachers, due in part to the rising costs of school supplies, increasing an estimated 7.7% over the past year according to an analysis from The Groundwork Collaborative and The Century Foundation. According to Mr. M, a special needs elementary school teacher in Kentucky, who is using a pseudonym to speak openly about his experience, this has impacted families, leaving students coming to school with less and less supplies that teachers then have to compensate for.

“Definitely this year I noticed that the kids are just coming in with nothing–not even backpacks,” said Mr. M. “And usually, the school takes care of that for the most part, but it just kind of depends on what the supply is in that school.” 

Teachers typically have to supplement student resources with their own funds if they want timely orders. For teachers to order supplies through the school, they have to fill out several forms with the bookkeeper, and then after a few days of processing, the supplies could arrive a month later at the earliest, explained Mr. M.

An elementary school teacher, Mrs. C, who is also using a pseudonym to speak openly, experiences this issue, too, adding that this leaves her to get supplies on her own. “When I want something or need something, I just go get it, because it's just the quick way to do it,” she said. “It's anything from supplies for the kids, or, like, decorey things, or even packing tape.” Teachers need more supplies than are offered by the school to support students and create a welcoming environment, but with this kind of system, it ends up coming out of their own pockets. 

This past year, teachers spent an average of nearly $900 of their own money on school supplies alone, which was a 49% increase since 2015, according to Adopt A Classroom. The National Education Association reported that, on average, teachers report spending $400 to $900 of their own funds on students.

At the same time as out-of-pocket costs for supplies are increasing, so is the workload. Mr. M calls the workload “staggeringly different,” explaining that educators are required to do more data collection and analysis than they were before.  “Which is a good thing for education,” he said. “But the workload is much more than it was.”

Kentucky ranks 42nd out of 50 states in average teacher salaries according to the National Education Association. That means Kentucky teachers are paid significantly less than most of the rest of the nation. Low pay and strenuous work conditions continue to discourage employment, leaving 2,400 teaching vacancies across the state as of 2025.

“I talked to older teachers before, where they go ahead and retire because they're like, ‘this is a different job, I'm out of here,’” Mr. M said. 

The pay discrepancies have gotten to the point where many teachers, Mr. M and Mrs. C included, have to work additional part-time jobs in order to make ends meet. A 2026 report found that 71% of teachers in the United States work a second job. 

 “I feel like now, at this point, we're kind of just living paycheck to paycheck because of how much, not just school supplies, but everything has gone up,” Mr. M said.

Meanwhile, Mrs. C points out that she still has student loan debt, which adds to financial stress.  “So I can hardly make payments on that, because I’m spending money on the house, or... stuff for school or just everyday life things.” 

These costs force teachers to work second jobs, but also take away from time spent on course planning, grading, and ultimately on teaching. Spending time working late nights on the weekends gives no time for teachers to take care of their heavy workloads, leaving them with less sleep and heightened stress.

“If I'm burnt out, that's gonna show in my instruction,” said Mr. M. 

‍One study found that chronic stress, such as the type teachers regularly experience, can “impede day-to-day functioning and emotional balance, and it is a risk factor for developing other psychiatric illnesses, such as anxiety and depression.” This system is crushing teachers and leaving them with no room to recover, discouraging many from entering or staying in the field. 

“I just want the community to know that we're doing what we can and we love our students,” Mr. M said. “But we're worn very thin, so it might not seem like we're giving it our best.” He hears of parents being upset about not hearing from their child’s teacher, but with the workload, he feels no student is really getting what they need.

Beyond their own experiences, many educators are aware of the strain that high costs of living have on families, too. “And then you have the financial struggles of students, [and] families, with the rising costs of everything. So then that stress trickles down to the kids, and that could be behavior problems or food insecurity," said Mr. M. 

Before the start of this school year, many teachers spent their summers working, preparing their classrooms, and sharing Amazon Wishlists to try to get students the materials they need. Even with Amazon Wishlists, not everyone has the support system of people to help fund their classrooms, Mr. M points out.

Mrs. C said that her biggest pet peeve is people assuming teachers get their summers off.  "Yeah, but I'm practically working double during the school year," she said. "We get there early, we stay late most of the time." As the cost of living continues to rise, many classrooms are held together by the dedication and work of teachers willing to sacrifice so students can learn and grow. "Just kind of give us some grace," Mrs. C said. "We're just out here trying to do our best.”

The New Edu allowed sources to use pseudonyms in order to speak openly about their work conditions. The New Edu verified the identities of all sources.