Schools in San Diego have money in their budgets for classroom supplies but as NBC 7 Investigates found, not all of that money is being spent on notebooks, pens and paper.
In a random sampling of 10 schools in San Diego Unified School District, just one spent more than 50 percent of the funds budgeted for supplies on items for the classroom.
The money in the supplies budget is considered discretionary and may often be spent on other purchases ranging from creating a garden to hiring additional staff.
As students return to school, families are often presented with lists of suggested items for the student or requests for classroom “donations” like tissues or cleaning supplies.
Most school districts budget about $50 to $100 per pupil for classroom supplies but, that figure doesn't necessarily reflect how much is spent on things like paper, pens and pencils.
Those funds are discretionary, meaning they can be spent on field trips or noon duty supervisors, for example, instead of supplies, according to district officials.
When we checked with San Diego Unified, we found only one school out of 10 randomly selected schools surveyed spent more than 50 percent of their supplies budget on actual school supplies.
District officials say many schools decide to spend their funds on more needed services rather than supplies, which can be supplemented by parents, teachers and parent teacher organizations.
"I think we try to remove as many strings as possible where the schools can decide where they want to allocate the dollars to figure out what's best for them," said Budget Operations Director Debbie Foster for San Diego Unified.
To compare what was budgeted to how the money was spent, NBC 7 Investigates requested itemized budgets for 10 randomly selected schools within the district of 226 educational facilities ranging from elementary school to alternative schools.
| School | Discretionary Budget | Supplies Expenses | Percentage |
| Lincoln High | 146,043 | 3560 | 2.44% |
| Bird Rock Elementary | 47,463 | 21268 | 44.81% |
| Pacific Beach Middle | 50,903 | 12849 | 25.24% |
| Henry High School | 218,514 | 16791 | 7.68% |
| Cherokee Point | 67,228 | 15172 | 22.57% |
| Ocean Beach Elementary | 55,476 | 32462 | 58.52% |
| Sunset View Elementary | 40,534 | 13144 | 32.43% |
| Marshall Middle | 106,016 | 14278 | 13.47% |
| Scripps Ranch High | 192,743 | 23587 | 12.24% |
| Mann Middle | 72,954 | 10791 | 14.79% |
| Chavez Elementary | 35,941 | 14129 | 39.31% |
Mobile users can see list here
Local
A state law that guarantees a free public education prohibits schools from requiring students to bring materials to school.
If your school is requiring, rather than recommending the purchase of school supplies, we want to hear about it.
Send your supply list to nbc7investigates@nbcuni.com.
