This nonprofit store helps stock classrooms

Ross Anderson signs in at the front desk, grabs a shopping cart and quickly begins filling it with pencils, pens, notebooks, a backpack and other classroom necessities.

The Van Buren Middle School teacher used to spend about $500 of his own money on supplies each year, but this time he won't spend a dime.

Anderson is at Teaching Tools, a nonprofit store that allows educators from the poorest Hillsborough County public schools to shop free once a month.

"This will carry me over till September," he says, practically giddy with the possibilities as he shows off a small radio, headphones and other inexpensive gifts he uses to reward young achievers.

Operated by the Hillsborough Education Foundation, the store collects donated school supplies and even creates some from recycled materials, then divvies them up among 87 of the district's Title I schools.

Fifty-three more schools are on a waiting list.

Title I schools typically are measured by the number of students receiving free or reduced-price lunches provided by a federally funded program. In Hillsborough, 127 schools have at least 56 percent of students getting help with lunch.

Teachers receive a stipend from the district to purchase school supplies, but the foundation estimates Florida's classroom budgets allow for spending only about 5 cents a day on each student.

"It gets worse as the times are getting worse," says Melissa Schumacher, a retired teacher who last taught at Crestwood Elementary and now volunteers at the store.

Sulphur Springs Elementary Principal Christi Buell acknowledges her teachers spend "a considerable" amount on supplies, but her school, a Title I with 96 percent of students on federal lunch assistance, has earmarked money specifically for classroom consumables such as glue, journals and construction paper.

"The district is really good about making sure we have what we need," Buell says. "I don't anticipate we'll be going without this year."

Still, some students will, and that's where teachers step in to fill the need.

"Parents don't want to admit they can't provide for their children," says Melinda Dale, marketing manager for the foundation, which estimates teachers spend about $1,000 a year on school supplies.

Elementary school costs are among the highest, says Schumacher, a 38-year veteran educator who estimates she used to shell out $250 a year on odds and ends such as crayons, Kleenex and hand sanitizer.

Getting some supplies for free really boosts a teacher's budget, she says.

Teachers from selected schools can shop at the store once a month, leaving with up to $250 worth of supplies. Some teachers are designated as the shopper for the whole school; they get to spend about $1,000 a month.

Even those from public schools that aren't classified as Title I can buy supplies at Teaching Tools if they volunteer there for three hours a month.

The store, at 3719 Corporex Park Drive, Suite 400 - near the Florida State Fairgrounds - is open every Wednesday and Thursday from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and the second Saturday of the month from 9:30 a.m. to noon. For information, call store manager Denise Becker at (813) 740-7651 or go to www.education foundation.com.