5 pages and I STILL haven't seen an argument for what, exactly, is costing thousands of dollars.
Bean bag chairs? No kid ever suffered because their classroom was missing a bean bag chait.
The first year I taught, my DH & I joked that I really wasn't getting paid - it felt like my entire monthly salary was basically going to the next month's needed supplies.
Even after my first year, at the end of each month, I would go out & spend $100-$200 for the next month.
No, students, don't need bean bag chairs, but they also don't learn very well in an empty, sterile room either.
At my school, we were fortunate & didn't have to pay for the textbooks, & limited office-type supplies were also available (dry erase markers, sticky note pads, pens, staples, tape, copy paper, etc.) - provided we didn't take advantage of them. We had to sign for everything we got out of the supply closet & every time we used the copy machine.
However, everything else I used in my classroom was supplied by me - special grip pencils, the bulletin board materials/decorations (which I changed monthly), learning centers, wall posters, visuals, general learning aids, all the books for the reading center, art supplies, supplies for experiments, math aids (plastic money, pretend clocks, geometric shapes, a balance, sorting/counting manipulatives, etc.), language arts aids (phonics cards, sentence strips, pocket boards, etc.), a globe, maps, stickers, rewards/prizes, reading certificates, puzzles, anything that I need for classroom organization (trays, labels, take-home folders, etc.), personal desk supplies (trays, folders, stapler, tape dispenser, hole punch, etc.), printer ink (so MUCH printer ink!), sticky-tack (to attach all the things to the cement walls), classroom idea books, etc.
From my students, at the beginning of each year, I asked for one pack of construction paper, crayons, glue sticks, scissors, & a small bottle of antibacterial gel. The construction paper was for general classroom use; everything else was kept in personal supply boxes at the tables. I also asked for one box of tissues per student & one box of gallon-sized Ziplock bags per student.
Every time we did any kind of craft or activity, I supplied the materials - markers, posterboard, velcro, cotton balls, colored sand, colored sidewalk chalk, pinecones, stencils, stamps, little bells, wooden dowels, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, feathers, paint, paint brushes, liquid glue, yarn, etc. When we planted seeds, I supplied the seeds & the dirt & the containers. When we baked apple pies in September, I supplied the apples, the dough, the butter, & the cinnamon & sugar & made a chef's hat for each student. When we made spaghetti art or popped popcorn for various activities, I supplied the spaghetti & the popcorn. For our 100th Day Celebration - 100 stickers per student, 100 pieces of cereal per student, ribbon for each student.
There was another teacher, & our classes met together for music. She supplied all the musical instruments for the students (rhythm sticks, drums, shakers, etc.).
It adds up.
And, again, I was fortunate to be in a school where the textbooks & some office-type supplies were provided. I know other teachers who have to provide their own copy paper to make copies of tests & quizzes & handouts & textbook pages since there aren't enough textbooks.
And, no, teachers don't exactly enjoy spending so much of their own money to provide for their students & their classrooms; however, it's what they do because they're dedicated to their students & want to provide a quality learning environment for their students.
They also realize the funding just isn't there for all the different items & supplies that each teacher needs in his/her classroom. Schools barely have enough funding as it is - there is NO extra money to be distributed to teachers for their classrooms' personal use.
Education is not like healthcare.
And, if teachers suddenly decided, "Hey, we aren't going to use our own money any more," the money still wouldn't magically be there & the students would suffer.