Teachers Are Paying for Their Own PPE So U.S. Schools Can Reopen

America’s schools have nowhere near the money they need to reopen safely in the pandemic. To bail themselves out, districts are tapping some unlikely benefactors: the nation’s 3.5 million teachers.

In Columbus, Georgia, Amber Dumbuya is spending more than $1,000, much of it out-of-pocket, to fortify her high school literature classroom. Like the proprietor of her own stationery store, she’s stocking up on dry-erase boards, pencil pouches, highlighters, floor cushions and metal stools. That way, her seniors can study in socially distant pods.

Dumbuya is preparing for back-to-school this year with extra pencils and highlighters that she plans to sanitize daily.

Source: Amber Dumbuya

“It’s a tough place to be,” said Dumbuya, whose own son starts kindergarten this year. “And ...