Over 3,000 public school teachers in New York City are turning to donations to acquire basic classroom supplies, despite the city’s Department of Education anticipating an unprecedented $42,000 spending per student when the academic year resumes on September 4.

Among these educators is Sherri Jackson, one of the 3,385 city teachers using the DonorsChoose online fundraising platform. They seek funding for items that surpass their school’s budget and what they can personally afford to provide.

Jackson is requesting donations for necessities like bandages, hygiene items such as deodorant and menstrual pads, and warm clothing. According to her interview with The Post, these are as crucial for her low-income students as pencils.

“I cannot go and be like, ‘Hey, Department of Education, I need Bandaids and I need sanitary napkins to have in my classroom, because my students are starting their cycles and they need the supplies. They’ll look at me like, ‘That’s not important.” But it is,” said Jackson, who teaches fifth grade at KIPP All Middle School in Mott Haven, where 85% of students receive free or reduced-price lunches. 

“We have to pay for things out of pocket . . . that are not being given to us. That’s why I rely on DonorsChoose,” Jackson said.

Erica Yonks, an art teacher at the High School for Law Advocacy and Community Justice on the Upper West Side, also needs hygiene products — plus art supplies.

“There’s no other profession where you’re expected to provide literally the basics that you need to do your job on your own – let alone what the kids need too,” said Yonks.

The 11th- and 12th-grade teacher said she gets around $400 from her school to spend on supplies for approximately 150 students — a measley $3 per pupil. 

Under the Teacher’s Choice program, the DOE afforded each teacher $235 reimbursement for supplies last year, if instructors turned in receipts. The reimbursement amount this year has not been set, but many educators say the fund only covers a fraction of what they expect to spend throughout the school year.

The district funds schools on an equity based per pupil funding model, according to the DOE, which said that principals ultimately decide how to spend the dough.

“I need basic teacher stuff – highlighters, pens, pencils and copy paper – so it’s a battle of spending my budget on logistical teacher needs and art stuff that I want the kids to experience,” Yonks told The Post. 

The Citizen Budget Commission projects the DOE will shell out $42,168 per pupil this year – up from last year’s $40,639. Yet NYC teacher requests on DonorsChoose is already up to a collective $4.1 million as the school year begins.

“No teacher should have to fundraise for basic supplies,” said Manhattan Institute fellow Danyela Souza Egorov of the “absurd” need to crowdsource. “It’s just another sign of the DOE’s incompetence in managing public funds.”

“We are proud to provide our schools with the resources they need to support their students and provide a world class education, in addition to free school meals for every student, dedicated facilities teams that keep our schools clean, and school nurses equipped to step in when needed,” a DOE spokesperson said. “We commend our educators who choose to go above and beyond, raising extra funds for their classrooms and collecting extra resources for students who may need them.”

Additional reporting by Susan Edelman.