Imagine a gymnasium with no equipment, a classroom with no books, a music studio with no instruments. That’s the reality many educators say they would face if they didn’t spend their own money — hundreds or sometimes even thousands of dollars per year — to furnish students with supplies.

That’s why the UFT is making another big push this year to increase Teacher’s Choice funding in the city budget.

“Most of my students do not come to school with any supplies,” says Nicole Skelly, a 1st-grade teacher at PS 397 in the Prospect-Lefferts Gardens section of Brooklyn. “Without me spending my own money, my students would not have what is needed to succeed.”

The Teacher’s Choice program, funded by the City Council, reimburses educators for the purchase of classroom and school supplies of their choice. In 2015, Teacher’s Choice funding received a 62 percent boost following a big social media and member-lobbying campaign by the UFT to show City Council members the direct impact that Teacher’s Choice has on classroom learning. Teachers received $122 in Teacher’s Choice funding for the 2015–16 school year, up from $77 the previous year.

$500 on average out of pocket

UFT surveys show that teachers spend an average of $500 a year of their own money on everything from basic supplies like paper and pencils to specialized items like telescopes and guitars.

Teachers say their out-of-pocket spending has one goal: to provide their students with the tools they need for success.

“What we do best is to give them a quality education in the areas they need,” says Lorraine Ferrannini, who teaches Activities of Daily Living skills to high school students with severe disabilities at South Richmond HS on Staten Island.

To prepare her students for life beyond high school, Ferrannini has purchased everything from wallets (“to put fake debit cards in”) to toothbrushes (“to become more comfortable with oral hygiene”) to silverware.

“Some of our students couldn’t eat in a restaurant because they’ve had a spork in the cafeteria every single day of their lives,” she says, referring to the spoon-shaped eating utensil with small tines at the tip. “I’m passionate about these kids, and I’ll go out and buy everything to meet their basic needs.”

That sentiment is echoed by Debra Saunders, a 3rd-grade teacher at PS 71 in Ridgewood, Queens. “My basement at home is chock full of stuff I keep hauling into my classroom,” she says. “I cannot expect children to do the work without pencils and other supplies, so by providing them we can get the job done.”

For many teachers, the amount of money they receive through Teacher’s Choice funding simply isn’t enough to meet the demands of their curriculum.

“I give the kids a list, but their families just can’t afford the supplies,” says Wayne Tobias, a math teacher at Williamsburg Preparatory School in Brooklyn. So Tobias supplies his students with protractors, rulers, compasses and triangle shapes for geometry.

“The kids already have a lot of issues to deal with at home,” he says. “It really relieves some of the pressure when they can bring home geometry tools to complete their work.”

‘Kids are much more motivated’

Gail Ericson, a physical education teacher at PS 233 in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, won a grant to outfit her school gymnasium — but that was 10 years ago. Since then, she’s spent $500 a year on new balls, tennis rackets, golf clubs, badminton sets and more.

“The kids are much more motivated when they see new equipment, so I try to bring in new things every year,” she says.

Others say they open up their own wallets to provide students with innovative experiences that go beyond the regular curriculum. When Joel Jackal, a science teacher at Forest Hills HS in Queens, and an astronomy buff, found out that the transit of Mercury across the sun would be visible for the first time in 10 years — and for the last time until 2019 — he spent $200 on a telescope and solar filters for his class.

“How often do kids in New York City get to look through a telescope?” Jackal said. “It was really rewarding for me.”

Marc Montalbano, an ELA teacher at Tottenville HS on Staten Island, spends about $100 per month on new comics for his graphic literature class.

“My students have been able to dive deeply into the medium and are able to analyze the artist’s and writer’s intentions, replicate layout and abstraction techniques and create their own comics based upon their reading,” he says. “My entire course would be completely unable to function if I didn’t spend so much of my own money.”

For Karen Huurman, a science teacher at MS 136 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, who purchased fetal pigs for her 7th-graders to dissect, the out-of-pocket investment has been worth it.

“A student who is normally off-task was totally focused for four class periods and in the end told me the experience made him want to be a doctor,” she says. “Inspiring students to want to learn is invaluable.”